Believe
by TrueNinja
Summary: Alexis Hunter, the daughter of two well-known Death Eaters becomes the protege of the notorious Bellatrix Lestrange. Since the age of sixteen, Alex earns her reputation from the warrants of Azkaban. She is one of The Dark Lord's most loyal servants until she discovers something huge that changes everything. (Later on Bellamione, Ginny/Harry, Draco/Alex) R&R, thank you.
1. The child of darkness

_Story title_ : Believe

 _Description_ : A story which is mainly set between HP and the Deathly Hallows 1&2\. I tell the story from the POV of a third person and mainly about the dark side (because the main characters are Alexis and Bellatrix). Kind of AU, I guess; the story line changes slightly after Hermione's torture in the Malfoy Manor + I have OC so it's different. OOCness is intentional but of course I'm trying to keep it minimum as too much is always too much.

 _The main characters_ : My own creation Alexis (Alex, Lexie) Hunter, Bellatrix Lestrange, Hermione Granger

 _Pairings_ : Alexis & Draco, Bellatrix & Hermione later (don't like, can still read, I keep it minimum) + jealous Ron (haha sorry, have to), Harry & Ginny later

 _Rated_ : T, should almost be M because of the violence, self-harm, drugs and terrible angst moments (read on your own responsibility)

 ** _Summary_** : Alexis Hunter was raised to believe she was superior, above anyone else but The Dark Lord. She was raised to be arrogant, emotionless and tough. When she becomes the protege of the one and only Bellatrix Lestrange, she learns what power is. As the servant of The Dark Lord, Alex discovers one thing that changes everything. What is it? Does Alex's faith change?

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Alex. I don't get money of anything including this, I'm just playing.

 **Author's statement** : Read this story open-minded. The path is rough but you know what they say; when life gives you lemons...throw those fuc**rs out of the window.

* * *

 **1\. The child of darkness**

 _ **\- They know that the darkness suits her**_

 _ **They know that it moves her**_

 ** _Although even the darkness doesn't know_**

 ** _That she was never meant to be its own -_**

* * *

 _Alexis Hunter was standing outside the doors of the Great hall. She was one of the first years attending to the sorting ceremony. She was small for her age, but that didn't bother her, she was confident. She had long black hair, high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes. Her appearance was quite innocent, but the girl herself wasn't._

 _Now and then, she eyed the others warily. She didn't know any of them. One of the boys was looking for his lost toad, some nervous girl was blabbering about the history of Hogwarts and the others were just too nervous to do anything. No one had impressed Alexis so far, so she was willing to bet that most of them were mudbloods. Or worse, blood traitors._

 _A few moments later Professor McGonagall got back and led them to the Great hall. It was huge. The ceiling was like an open sky and there were thousands of candles floating around. It was almost beautiful. If the others were nervous outside, it was nothing compared to this. Alexis noticed the pale faces. Wussies._

 _The ceremony was taking its time and was rather dull. The blabber girl got sorted into Gryffindor and got a huge applause. Alexis sneered. '_ Gryffindors have no values at _all._ Brave and loyal, yeah right.' She _thought as she watched the bushy-haired girl run to her new table._

 _"Alexis Hunter!" For the finest second even Professor McGonagall had a concerned frown on her face, when wondering if she had read wrong._

 _The applause caused by the Gryffindor-girl died immediately. "Hunter?" Someone whispered in a horrified tone. Even the professors gave some glances to Alexis, who proudly walked over to Professor McGonagall, her chin propped up confidently._

 _The hat didn't even touch her head when it already announced: Slytherin! Of course it did. It was Alexis's birth right to get into Slytherin. Her whole domain had been in Slytherin. Her new table burst into applause._

 _Alex smirked like it was her God given right and walked briskly to the Slytherin table. She shook a couple of hands and proudly introduced herself. She noticed many appreciating looks and her smirk only grew wider._

 _"Draco Malfoy!" An important-looking blonde boy walked towards the hat and it didn't waste time announcing: Slytherin! He glowed with pride. He walked to the table and sat next to Alexis._

 _"Hi. My name is Draco Malfoy." He introduced himself while shaking her hand. "Hi! I'm Alexis Hunter, but call me Alex." She replied. They exchanged a knowing glance and Alex made a mental note to get in good terms with him._

* * *

 _"Hello Ms. Hunter. I've heard a lot about you." Alex frowned and turned around towards the voice. She saw a tall, blonde-haired man, who looked down at her, an intrigued expression on his face. Next to him, stood a smirking Draco._

 _"Hello. You must be Mr. Malfoy." Alex said politely and shook his hand. They were on the platform nine and three quarters. Alex and Draco had just finished their first year and were arriving home for summer._

 _Mr. Malfoy nodded proudly. "Yes I am. It is truly a privilege to be a Slytherin, don't you think, Ms. Hunter? Draco told that there are mudbloods running around the castle and as we know, Slytherin doesn't accept such...people in it." He finished and waited for response._

 _"Indeed it is, Mr. Malfoy. I am very proud to be a Slytherin and I think mudbloods shouldn't even exist. By the way Mr. Malfoy, I would prefer you calling me Alex." Alex responded without even a blink of eye._

 _Lucius stood there, amazement shining in his eyes. "Very well, Alex. Now, Draco here was wondering if you would like to come into the Malfoy Manor for the summer. Narcissa and I, we would be very pleased to have Deacon's and Victoria's daughter in our manor." He said with a sly smile._

 _Alex smirked. Both Hunters and Malfoys had always appreciated the purity of their blood and never had they stained their reputation._

 _"Likewise, Mr. Malfoy. Draco, I'll send you an owl to let you know when I'm arriving." Alex said, took her owl Nero and with a sly smile walked away._

* * *

 _A small group of third year Slytherins was resting under a huge oak tree. The group was better known as "Slytherin's inner circle". Alex and Draco, the most famous people of the circle, were laying on the grass. They were talking about the detention hours Alex had just earned the night before._

 _"How exactly did you manage to sneak out of the castle...in the middle of the night and then get caught by Filch? Alex, I thought you were better than that." Draco snickered and got a playful punch to his shoulder as a response. "I didn't get caught by Filch! I got caught by his stupid cat, it is some kind of a ghost cat. It's always in the same place as I am." Alex cursed. "I was just going to-" she got cut off by Blaise Zabini._

 _"Guys, look. Weasel is coming here." He informed with a puzzled tone. Alex and Draco turned their heads just in time to see Weasel marching towards them, a hateful expression on his face._

 _"HUNTER!" He shouted. Alex got up and Draco after her. When Weasel got close enough, he shoved unprepared Alex to the ground and drew his wand out. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HERMIONE?!" Weasel demanded. The second Weasel had his wand in his hand, Draco had his pointing at Weasel._

 _"Don't even think about it." Draco growled. Draco and Alex always protected each other. It was an unspoken agreement._

 _"What?" Alex spat and got up. She was sincerely confused- "I did nothing to your precious mudblood!" -and mad. She was mad._

 _"Don't lie!" Weasel cried out, his wand two inches from Alex's face now. "Stupe-" Weasel tried, but Alex was way faster. "Expelliarmus!" Weasel lost his wand and Alex threw it away. In his angry state Draco sent a jinx in Weasel's direction, causing the idiot's cheek to cut open._

 _"Leave, blood traitor. Otherwise, I take no responsibility on my actions, I promise you." Alex growled, clearly meaning it. She turned around to leave, trying to calm down._

 _"You're a bloody moron Hunter! You'll just die for nothing! JUST LIKE YOUR DEMONIC PARENTS!" Weasel shouted._

 _Alex froze and dropped her wand. Her blood boiled over the limit. "SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH! You know nothing!" She shrieked, losing the final grip of her self-control. She stormed over to Weasel and delivered a square punch straight to his nose._

 _Alex shoved Weasel to the ground and hovered over him, glaring daggers through him. "Say another word and I'll end you_ _! What do you think, ha?! I swear to Merlin, you blood traitor, I won't think twice!" Alex growled._

 _Weasel looked like he would faint soon. Alex panted from the pure adrenaline running in her veins. "Let's see who will have the last laugh. You and the rest of the filths, or me and the army of the Dark Lo-"_

 _"Ms. Hunter! What are you doing?" A Scottish voice belonging to their transfiguration professor demanded. She nearly ran over to them and helped Weasel up from the ground. She inspected him for injuries, finding a broken nose._

 _"Breaking noses for afternoon fun perhaps?!" Professor McGonagall cried out hopelessly. Alex didn't care, not right now. Weasel had crossed the line. Not her fault._

 _"Fifty points from Slytherin! For Merlin's sake...and that gives you a month more of detention, Ms. Hunter!" Professor McGonagall listed to Alex, but she was already storming away._

* * *

 _Cedric Diggory was dead. Everything was a mess. The Tri-wizard tournament had turned into a disaster, into a horror movie. Alex and Draco were already led back to the Slytherin's common room and they had no idea what was going on._

 _Hours passed and in the end, Alex and Draco were the only ones left in the common room. "Hello, our young couple." A sneering voice teased them. Both teenagers looked around. Alex saw Lucius's head in the flames and nudged Draco. "Hi Lucius." She greeted the older Malfoy with a sly smile._

 _"What happened dad? Potter came back with a dead Diggory." Draco murmured. For a moment Lucius had an unrecognizable expression on his face, but then he grinned slyly, saying something that lit a fire into Alex's cold eyes._

 _"The Dark Lord has returned."_

* * *

 _She was hawk alike, waiting for her attack. Her blue eyes were focused on the quaffle. When it was thrown towards the Slytherin's goal poles, she was ready for it. She lunged forward and caught the quaffle in mid-air, turning Gryffindor's attack upside-down._

 _A fifteen-year-old Alex was Slytherin's top chaser. She was very talented. Students were even thinking she was to become England's new chaser. Not that she was. She had more important things planned for the future._

 _Alex dodged both of Gryffindor's chasers trying to catch her and sped towards the goal poles. She made the audience gasp by bluffing and dropping the quaffle to Zabini. Zabini dodged the last chaser and passed to Alex. Alex threw it quickly and forcefully, earning twenty points for Slytherin._

 _The noise coming from the green and silver audience was deafening. "Hunter! Hunter! Hunter!" The name echoed in the winter day and nothing could've made Alex more proud in that moment. She raised her fist into the air and smirked slyly in her signature way._

 _Alex was talented on a broom stick, no one in their right mind would deny that. It's just that the opponents hated the fact._

 _Alex snapped out of her little bubble of pride when she saw the snitch flying three feet away from her, Draco and Potter after it. She anxiously watched as Draco chased the snitch down and closed his fist around it. "YES!" Alex cried out and flew to Draco. They crashed together and hugged, Alex laughing wildly._

 _Later there was a party in the Slytherin's common room. Draco and Alex were the heroes of the day. Even though Draco was the one who caught the snitch, Alex had earned enough points for Slytherin to win even if Potter would've caught the snitch._

 _Alex was in the center of the party, fooling around and making people laugh like usual. Only that this time there wasn't any jibes towards anyone, there were only funny, nearly innocent jokes. Others couldn't remember another time when Alex would've been so sincerely herself and off her guards. Ever._

 _After midnight Alex sneaked into the kitchen and got some cake for them, gaining huge applause. She was enjoying her own peace when Draco came to her. "Alex." He smirked, looking ridiculously good._

 _"Draco." Alex laughed. "What?" She asked, still laughing when Draco took her hand and led her away from the crowd._

 _Draco had a serious look on his face, when he turned to face Alex again. "What has happened? Is it the Dark Lord? I-" Alex started but got cut off by a soft pair of lips covering hers. She needed a moment to realize what was happening, but when she did, she responded immediately. The kiss was soft but hard. Chaste but demanding. It was their first kiss and both of theirs first kiss._

 _When they parted, they just stayed there. In the corner of their common room, staring each other in the eyes and smiling. It was one of Alex's sincere smiled ever and Draco knew it. But even he didn't know that it was Alex's last smile for a long, long time._

* * *

 _It was the summer before their sixth year in Hogwarts. Alex and Draco were walking in the woods which surrounded the Malfoy Manor. They had been in the woods the whole day and now they were getting back to the manor._

 _"Are you annoyed Alex? I mean, we still have to get back to Hogwarts..." Draco asked, when they were close to the manor, just about to reach the front yard._

 _"I am. I would be ready join His ranks but instead of that, I'm still in the middle of mudbloods and blood traitors..." Alex trailed off, staring into the distance._

 _Draco noticed that Alex was getting colder and more distant every day. Not that he wasn't, but the Dark Lord seemed to have really strong influence on Alex. She was getting even more impulsive and quiet._

 _They didn't share another word, until they were inside the manor again and heard some voices coming from the library. There were two women arguing loudly, the other one being Narcissa._

 _"Should we..." Draco said and got a nod for response._

 _Alex got her wand out and burst through the door, Draco hot on her heels. The sight was not alarming. Alex saw Narcissa sitting on a chair facing the fireplace and a raven-haired woman standing behind her._

 _Alex recognized the woman immediately when she turned around. She had dark onyx eyes, untamed raven curls and a sneering expression. She was the one and only Bellatrix Lestrange._

 _Alex quickly lowered her wand and bowed slightly. "Mrs. Lestrange. A pleasure." She stated, looking into those onyx eyes._

 _Bellatrix stared at Alex a little while, then advanced her. "Likewise...and who might you be, little girlie?" She articulated with a childish tone, looking like an amused three-year-old. 'Could it be?' Bellatrix mused to herself as she advanced the younger witch._

 _"Alexis Victoria Hunter, known as Alex." Alex said, stretching each of her words to be painfully long stings. She enjoyed speaking slowly, tormenting the people around her with the force of her words._

 _For a second, Bellatrix seemed baffled and Alex knew she was intrigued, even though she did her best to hide it. After all, this was the first time that Mrs. Lestrange met her all grown-up. Alex knew that before Bellatrix went to Azkaban, she had known her parents and that for, her too._

 _"Hunter?"_

 _Alex nodded, causing Bellatrix to lick her ruby lips once more. "You child, are mine to - train..." Suddenly, Bellatrix cackled madly. "Do you think that you're ready for Him? That you're ready to devote yourself?" She cooed._

 _"I do." Alex simply stated and waited patiently for the answer to sink in._

 _Bellatrix eyed her intrigued for a moment. "Very well..." she whispered, then not wasting her time, turned back to her sister. "Now Cissy. Shouldn't the "chosen one" know?" She asked, her tone sweet but killing._

 _Narcissa got up, sneering slightly. Draco advanced his mother and aunt. "What is it that we don't know, mother?" He questioned._

 _"The Dark Lord has a mission for you." Narcissa said but seemed to lost rest of her words, unable to continue. Bellatrix grinned, cackling loudly. "You get to kill Dumbledore."_

* * *

 _The astronomy tower stood steadily in its place in the darkening spring night. It had always been a peaceful place away from noises and happenings, but not tonight._

 _Albus Dumbledore was leaning against a rail and had a slight smile on his old and worldly face. He was looking into the young and horrified eyes of Draco Malfoy._

 _"Draco, you're no assassin." He calmly stated and regained part of his composure. "Shut up, old man!" Draco spat, trying desperately gain his confidence back. He was seriously terrified but did his best to hide it._

 _"You don-" Dumbledore stated but then heard some voices coming from the stairs. "You're not alone, I see." Dumbledore whispered, smiling once again._

 _From behind Draco, walked Bellatrix Lestrange, Fenrir Greyback and not to Dumbledore's surprise but to his disappointment Alexis Hunter._

 _"Little Drakie here wanted her aunt to see his first kill, didn't he?" Bellatrix cooed, cracking into one of her insane cackles. "I'm here now...DO IT!" She shrieked, grinning._

 _"Good evening Bellatrix, it's rather a pleasant evening." Dumbledore said like for an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time._

 _"Yes, yes...it is. Now if you excuse us, Draco here gets to kill you and then we have some other...arranges to take care of." Bellatrix said, sarcasm dripping from her every word._

 _Dumbledore turned his attention to Draco, slowly drawing his wand out. "I shall make this easy for-" He didn't even get to draw it fully out when it already flew out of his hand. Dumbledore turned to back Alex. Eyeing the pale young witch who looked like she had a rough few months - or years - behind, Dumbledore hummed. "Ah, young Alexis. Non-verbal magic already?" He chuckled. "You really are one extraordinary witch. You know, you would make a good auror."_

 _"I would rather die than join you filths!" A very serious Alex spat out proudly, making Bellatrix cackle even harder. "That's my protege." She cooed, placing her hands on Alex's waist and peeking from behind her. Shuddering slightly, able to hide it from everyone else but Dumbledore, Alex bared her teeth the slightest._

 _"I would be more than happy to finish you." the youngest occupant of the tower growled with a tone that Dumbledore didn't recognize to be hers anymore._

 _"Draco!" Bellatrix demanded. She sounded bored already. "Kill him and let's go!" Draco's wand hand shook roughly._

 _"You don't have to." Dumbledore said, trying to save Draco's soul. "Don't you DARE, you old filth!" Alex shrieked and pulled her sleeve up. A brand new dark mark in her arm made Dumbledore sigh in sadness._

 _"It is a mission to be done for our Lord! It's an HONOR!" Alex spat out, looking fearless and furious but small all the same. "NOW DRACO!" Bellatrix shrieked._

 _"A-...Ava-"_

 _"No." Draco's rambling cut off short by Severus Snape entering the astronomy tower. He slowly walked from behind Draco and looked at Dumbledore._

 _"Severus." The old man pleaded him. "Please." Snape gave him one last glance, observing the old man for the last time._

 _"Avada kedavra." It was a quick and accurate shot. It hit Dumbledore in the middle of his chest and he fell over the rail, disappearing into the darkness. Snape left immediately after, Draco and others following suite._

 _In the way out, Bellatrix was cackling like a madwoman, breaking everything around her. Alex had a mad gleam in her eyes and she was breaking stuff all the same. She felt like she had lost every good part in her, completely and eternally. The power she had felt once the killing curse had hit the old man's chest was getting the control of her, beating her emotions ten to nothing._

 _Outside, they reached Hagrid's cottage. "Wake up you filth!" Alex shrieked, making Bellatrix howl in laughter, boosting her ego more and more. "Wake uuup! I'm going to burn your house you CREEP!" Alex shrieked again and send a fyendfire snake towards the worthless cottage._

 _In between, Snape fought with Potter, easily besting him. He turned towards the forbidden forest. "Follow." was all he said. A simple word that everybody obeyed._

 _In the forest Alex ran ahead of everyone, yelling loudly._

 _"Dumbledore is deeead." She yelled into the night. She had seriously lost it to the power and pure adrenaline she felt. No more was she messed up or trapped with the thoughts she hadn't been able to understand. The Dark Lord had shown her the power, just like He had promised!_

 _Alex's following laugh got cut off quickly when she felt a burning sensation on her left arm which made her freeze to her spot. "Do you feel that?" Bellatrix asked from behind her, grinning from ear to ear._

 _"He needs us." She said, took a firm grip of Alex's wrist and apparated._

* * *

 _28.7.1997, the Daily Prophet had a screaming headline in it: recognize the most dangerous Death Eaters. The Ministry of Magic had finally woken up to the realities that people were in danger. Ministry tried everything. It was good, that they did. Not that recognizing any of the Death Eaters would help._

 _Under the headline, there was a photo of each raw murderer. Bellatrix, Greyback, Dolohov and couple others. Then there was Alexis Hunter. A still sixteen-year-old girl, grinning madly in her photo. Under the photo there was a small text._

 _"Alexis Victoria Hunter, born in 18.12.1980. One of the most loyal servants of you-know-who. Shows no regret killing or torturing anyone, anywhere. If you see her, disapparate immediately. She is very dangerous, has already sent two of Ministry's best aurors into the St. Mungo's."_

 _The girl in the photo seemed pretty harmless, cute even. But Alex was always ready to correct such...assumptions._

 _"Crucio!" Alex shrieked again, making the filthy man writhe under her dragon's heart string wand. The man screamed in agony, writhed and writhed. Pathetic._

 _"Stop it! STOP IT! PLEASE!" The man screamed and Alex stopped rapidly. "Have you changed your mind now...ha?! WHEN DO THEY MOVE THE POTTER BOY?!" Alex shrieked, pointing her wand at him again._

 _"On Saturday! I SWEAR!" Mundungus Fletcher cried out, clearly terrified. Alex cackled, amused how easily she got out all the information. She had adrenaline running in her veins and she felt more alive than ever before._

 _"You're pathetic excuse of a wizard, you know that right?" Alex spat out, turned on her heels and disapparated. Leaving behind a swirl of black smoke. Not quite as dark as her thoughts but to the honor of the young one, pretty close._

* * *

So, this was the first chapter! Hope you liked it :) I personally felt like it was a little bit dull, but don't worry! **Just in case you didn't quite catch it yet: Alex is a daughter of two well-known Death Eaters, she became Death Eater in the age of sixteen and she is Bellatrix's protege and Malfoy family's...friend.** In case you didn't notice those were all  flashbacks from Alex's life before. THE ACTUAL STORY starts in the next chapter, this was kind of a prologue. I'm sorry for making her so evil etc. but this was just the beginning. Please be patient, **it gets hundred times better**! :)


	2. Dark times

_Author: Hi guys :D Yeah, I admit this took too long but here it is. Chapter two, the actual start of my story. Enjoy, (reviews are always welcome). :D_

* * *

This was it, they would have to catch Potter now. This was their best chance, wide open on the night sky of London. The Order tried to defend but it was useless. The Death Eaters were here and they wouldn't lack any ways of getting the Boy-Who-Lived. The cloaked figures sped up and reached the Order, starting a ruthless battle.

Alex Hunter was flying as the last one of the Death Eaters, Bellatrix next to her. The pair was supposed to 'keep watch' for no particular reason and it was bugging the young 'troublemaker'. The rest of the Death Eaters were firing the Order with unforgivable spells, trying their very best to kill someone. Snape was there, so was Lucius, Nott, Avery, Travers and Dolohov too. Someone on Alex's right, probably Nott (he was quite clever, Alex had observed) managed to kill Moody to Alex's great pleasure. She had never liked the man but on the other hand, he had always despised Alex too.

Alex felt the wind on her face, heard the screams around them and saw the red and green curses flying everywhere. As bored as she was, she carelessly fired a couple of killing curses towards the fake Potters. She felt ultimately useless there, safe and sound behind them all with Bellatrix. She wanted to take part to the battle somehow...

Bellatrix's words rung in Alex's head and the rational side of her brain begged her to obey the orders given. 'Lexie, you must stick up to the plan tonight.' Bellatrix's strict voice demanded Alex in her head. In the spite of it all, Alex's discretion failed her and her brain shut out as she heard the sounds of the battle. She sped up, ignoring Bellatrix's enraged screams. She had adrenaline running strong in her blood, making her even more foolhardy than usually. It was late to back off now.

The young quidditch promise easily reached the blood traitor Weasley, wasn't sure which one and fired a curse. It hit his ear and he screamed in agony. Alex laughed grimly and cruelly which made the Order to spot her. As Alex never wore her mask either, she was recognized easily. Alex becoming the Order's target wasn't originally their intention in any circumstances but now when they had the chance to take down one of the most dangerous ones of their opponents, of course they tried.

Soon Alex got some angry spells to deflect. She was a talented witch, both with a wand and a broomstick and it took long before one good-aimed spell got through her defence. A stupefy hit her square in the chest and forty feet away, one bushy-haired witch riding a thestral smirked victoriously.

Everything went black in Alex's head immediately when she was hit. Bellatrix saw how Alex fell down like a rag doll and hit the ground harshly, surely breaking many of her bones in the process. _'Idiot!'_ Bellatrix thought, shaking her head in disbelief. She looked around and saw that they were loosing. _'Why on earth I ever promised to take care of her?'_ She mused to herself as she flew down, took Alex to her arms and dissaparated.

* * *

Alex woke up in the backroom of Borkin & Burkes. Her head throbbed painfully, making the black-haired witch groan in distaste. _'Stupid, stupid, stupid!'_ Alex thought of herself and grimaced. The young witch looked around her quickly, finding no one else in the room than herself and the old vanishing cabinet that she and Draco had used just about two months ago. It had been a very easy way to get Bellatrix and others to Hogwarts. The small girl lying on the couch chuckled to herself as she remembered the way they had left the school afterwards.

Alex thought she could just get up and leave but the reality was different. When she sat up, all of her bones, muscles and sinews screamed no. She hissed and sat for a while, deciding to get up only after she had healed herself a bit. But...where was her wand?

After a second of almost panicking, she felt the wand in her sleeve and sighed in relief. Her dragon's heart string wand was a powerful one and she couldn't cope with any other. The poor wand had made so many terrible things to happen from the hand of its owner that it was just as dependent on Alex as Alex was dependent on it.

The bond between the wand and the girl had been instant. When Ollivander had once handed the wand to Alex, she had felt the power running in her veins like it would've always been there. Even Ollivander had admitted - albeit reluctantly since it was Alex - that it was very rare to witness a bond so powerful.

Slowly, Alex drew her twelve inches long maple wand out and repeated some difficult healing spells, easing her pain the best she could. It wasn't easy nor painless but it was rewarding. Soon, she was even able to stand up, albeit with strong wobbling. You see, healing wasn't Alex's thing at all. She saw it quite useless and didn't fail in any other spells nor curses so she was fine with it.

Alex had barely had time to put her wand back to its place or breathe when a familiar burning sensation took over her left arm. Alex gasped in pain, not the first time today. As the burning was too much for her in her wobbly state, she fell to her knees. Even though dropping to the floor only brought back some of the earlier pain, Alex chuckled in spite of it all.

Alex had grew up to be a whole different person than she was as a child. Of course, she had always been arrogant, proud and foolhardy but joining to the Dark Lord's ranks had only increased those traits and pushed her towards worse directions of life. It wasn't surprising as Alex had always been a very impulsive person and she had been raised to act the way she did.

Alex's uncle Byron was a strict man. He - alone - had raised Alex to the spirit where mudbloods and blood traitors were worth _nothing_ , just like he knew her parents would've wanted him to. He had raised his niece to be proud of their name too, ever since she understood the words spoken. They were the Hunters after all. The pure blooded, esteemed domain which had served the Dark Lord from the beginning. Alex was taught that there was no greater honor.

When Alex finally attended Hogwarts in the age of ten - as she was born in December - she was sorted into Slytherin. Of course she was. The whole Hunter domain had been in Slytherin among the Black and the Malfoy domains for centuries and Alex knew that very well. She attended Hogwarts for six years. In that time she bullied mudbloods, caused lots of harm, was the quidditch star and a marvelous student and assisted in the murder of Albus Dumbledore.

Being half a year (and thirteen days) younger than Draco, Alex became the youngest Death Eater. Some people said it was a privilege given because of her parents. Some said it was because Alex was a miniature of Bellatrix; sharp and skillful as hell. Both were right if asked, but Alex considered being part of her Lord's ranks as a privilege just on its own. After all, Alex just became what she was meant to be; what she wanted to be. A loyal servant of the Dark Lord. And here she was; hurt and wrenched, clutching her burning dark mark in the backroom of Borkin & Burkes. She had to admit it wasn't exactly how she had meant the mission to end.

Alex's light chuckling turned into growling when the burning in her arm only grew and grew. She didn't quite enjoy the way her Lord was calling her. _'He is very angry...fuck.'_ Alex thought, realizing she would have to go and face Him no matter what. Alex knew exactly why He was angry and felt disgusted at herself for it. She had failed, for the first time ever and she wasn't happy about it.

As Alex had gathered her thoughts together, she went through some pretty shitty attempts to get up, failing time after time. It was really frustrating and annoying. Not the getting up shit but being helpless and all. Finally, with the great help of her wand and the black leather couch, she managed to get up.

Someone entered the room and Alex turned around to see who she would have to fight. She did it a little bit too quickly, falling down once again, cursing heavily. Bellatrix closed the door behind her and advanced Alex. She had an unrecognizable expression on her face. She looked like she would've waited for Alex to say something.

"Our Lord-" Alex started but silenced when Bellatrix raised her index finger up and closed her eyes for a moment. "Hunter..." _'Oh...this is serious'_ Alex thought when she heard her last name echoing in the space between the two.

Bellatrix didn't speak until Alex looked her in the eyes. She never did. It was her habit of making it clear for Alex that she was the one with higher authority. But this time when she looked, Alex saw something unfamiliar flash quickly in those dark onyx eyes even though it was gone as soon as it had been there. "Fooling around, being childish and ruining your reputation in our Lord's eyes is fine by me as those are your own choices. But disobeying me is another thing." Bellatrix growled through gritted teeth, making Alex scowl. "Even if I successfully hurt the blood traitor?" She asked dryly, pulling a face. Bellatrix hadn't said anything bad yet, her glare was way worse than her words would ever be. Under her crushing glare, Alex reluctantly lowered her head as a mark of respect without saying another word.

"Yes, even if." Bellatrix half stated, half sighed. "Lexie, you could've died."

Alex's head snapped up. She stared at Bellatrix dumbly. After a while she frowned, saying "Yeah, I could've died then I _would've_ died, that's it." Her voice was unusually silent but it gave away everything. The girl couldn't care less. "Everybody dies someday, Bella." She added, her face blank from any emotion.

It was Bellatrix's turn to stare down at Alex who had lowered her head again and found special interest on the flames dancing in the fireplace. Alex looked cold and distant, hardened and too adult for her age.

Bellatrix felt her worries tugging her heart strings. She was a little bit afraid for Alex, not that anyone would've known. In 'their circles' it wasn't exactly admirable to care about someone if they weren't especially useful for you. Bellatrix did anyway.

Alex was still staring at the flames, clearly not wanting to continue their cheerful banter so Bellatrix decided not to press it any further. She sat down to an old armchair which was facing the fireplace that Alex was so intently staring at. "For your information...our Lord is angry, we failed bad time, we shall not go back to the manor before the sun rises." Bellatrix listed, looking thoughtful. She felt her dark mark burning but decided to ignore it.

"I should go." Alex said, her dark mark burning way more urgently than Bellatrix's. Bellatrix didn't quite catch her words. "Pardon me?" She coughed, looking suspicious. Alex sighed loudly and turned to face Bellatrix. She lifted her knees to her chest and hugged them loosely. She still had that same blank expression on her young face. "I should go back to the manor. Now." She repeated like for a five-year-old who asks the same question all over again.

"What?!" Bellatrix spat, all her frustration towards her protege coming up in that one word. She didn't get the girl. She was utterly nuts. Nobody went to the Dark Lord when He was angry, not even Bellatrix. She herself had learned it quickly.

The Dark Lord was known of His short temper and on His worst moments He most likely hurt everyone who happened to cross His path. Even His most loyal servants, including the little Alex.

"You what?" Bellatrix repeated her question, getting up. Alex was already crawling towards her cloak as she was afraid that her legs wouldn't carry her. "Are you out of your mind, Lexie?!" Bellatrix whispered, brushing her hands through her wild mane of curly black hair, a shocked expression on her beautiful face. As she watched her protege practically dragging herself towards her cloak, her need to protect the girl kicked in. "Always been, Bella." Alex answered as she reached her cloak. "Ha ha! Very funny!" Bellatrix mocked. Alex just shrugged on the floor and got up, taking support from the wall on her right.

"He will hurt you _badly_ , don't you get it? It doesn't matter what you've done for Him, what you've sacrificed! You- _we all_ failed and He does NOT accept mistakes!" Bellatrix reasoned, looking Alex straight in the eyes. Alex stared back, a frown on her face. For a moment Bellatrix thought she could see straight into the younger witch's soul through those icy blue eyes.

Alex was quiet for two long minutes and Bellatrix thought she had succeeded. Of course "Like I said, everyone of us _has_ to die some day." proved her terribly wrong. Her mood swing getting the better of her, Alex couldn't help but think would it really matter if she died after she had let her Lord down so badly.

Alex calmly and slowly took her cloak from the rack and fastened it, while Bellatrix opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to figure out what to say. She was not okay with this. She was boiling in anger and fear.

"Bella, the Dark Lord called me. I have to go. By the way-" Alex smirked shortly, her emotionless expression falling back to her face right after. "-I am almost sorry." Alex finished and before Bellatrix had time to react in any possible way, Alex had cast a powerful bombarda to the floor between the pair. Bellatrix lost her balance and flew backwards a couple feet, hurting herself. The talented young witch continued her attack quickly and cast a good shield charm between them, making it hard for Bellatrix to follow her. The worlds' most dangerous Death Eater was trapped.

After gaining her own balance back, Alex glared at Bellatrix coldly. Her expression told Bellatrix that she was not in her right mind. She looked angry, desperate and arrogant. "It's obvious you care. Stop." Alex stated, making Bellatrix's blood breeze. The younger witch didn't waste any time as she dissaparated, leaving a coughing, messy Bellatrix behind her.

* * *

Alex apparated straight to the gates of the Manor and saw that the sun was just about to rise. _'Shall not go back before the sun rises.'_ Alex huffed and as quickly as a limping and jerking person ever could, she reached the front doors. Nobody else but the Malfoys, Bellatrix and Voldemort were able to apparate straight inside the Manor. It was just a stupid convention on Alex's opinion.

Alex entered the Manor, heard voices from the drawing room and limped towards them. When she opened the door she saw Draco, Lucius and Narcissa standing next to the farthest wall, appalled expressions on their faces. Alex considered that they had a good reason for their...shocked states.

There were two dead Death Eaters lying on the floor in the most disturbing postures Alex had ever seen. She didn't recognize them but both of the men looked quite young. The leather couches and the wooden drawers were all flipped and broken. Almost all of the paintings were torn and the expensive curtains were on the floor, covered in blood. Like it would've not been enough, there was one other victim lying next to the two men. She was Stacy Meadow, a woman who had tried to catch Alex one month backwards. She was a ministry worker, a decent human being, a mother of three, a beloved wife. Now, she was dead, gone. Alex felt no pity for her but this time she didn't laugh or joy either. She was too nervous. Too torn apart between her frequent mood swings.

Voldemort sensed Alex's arrival and turned around."Hunter..." He hissed, enraged. Alex bowed but knew better than to say something. "What took you so long, hmm?" He asked but raised His hand to silence Alex when she opened her mouth to answer. "Now now...you must have an idea why I called you so...urgently?" Voldemort spelled through gritted teeth, raging flames burning in His red eyes. He was rolling His wand between His long and pale fingers constantly, waiting for a reason to use it. Alex shivered slightly.

"Yes, I trust this is about last night, my Lord?" Alex questioned, unwittingly playing with fire. "Yes it indeed is. May I question what was your part in that screw-up?" Voldemort questioned impatiently, already knowing everything. He squeezed His wand tighter and tighter by every passing second.

"I-" Alex caught Draco looking at her from the other side of the room. Their gazes met, Alex's eyes emotionless, Draco's fearful. Alex tried to smirk confidently but it probably looked more like a dying person's wince because it caused tears to start dripping from the younger Malfoy's eyes.

"Well?" Voldemort was loosing His patience.

"I successfully hurt one of the blood traitors. The Order spotted me and someone managed to stun me, my Lord." Alex replied, finding some shreds of her earlier confidence back. "Who may I ask, told you to do any of this?" Voldemort hissed, venomously. Alex didn't find answer to that, she froze completely.

"Well, you foolish girl? Who?!" He demanded Alex and flicked His wand easily, making Alex fly across the room. He had to teach His young Death Eater a lesson and He wouldn't lack any ways of doing it. It seemed that even the best ones needed some...education now and then.

Alex collided with the wall harshly, hitting her head roughly, tasting the blood in her mouth. Narcissa whimpered in the corner behind her husband who stared at the pair fearfully. Draco had turned away, as he couldn't watch.

"No one told me to do what I did, my Lord." Alex gasped, spitting a large amount of blood to the once so clean marble floor. Voldemort shrieked in fury and sent three, large oak tree chairs flying towards Alex. Alex rolled from their way when they hit the wall, sending different sizes of wooden splinters everywhere.

"You will obey Hunter! Let me see how many curses it takes for you to learn that! Crucio!" Voldemort shrieked, twisting His wand causing Alex to scream in agony. She writhed and jerked under Voldemort's wand. Later, Alex decided there was nothing like the pain caused by the Dark Lord. She was in horrible pain but wasn't going to beg her Master to stop. She never begged and she never would.

Now and then the pain stopped for two seconds and then came back again, way worse than before. Alex trashed on the floor, screaming, screaming and screaming. She was thrown around a couple times, the air escaping her lungs every time when she hit the ground.

When the pain finally stopped, Alex was only a numb limb. She was breathing rapidly, tears flowing down her face. She didn't know what was happening around her but she didn't care either. She had let down her Lord and she was a screw-up anyway. She deserved this all.

Voldemort had a dangerous gleam in His eyes when He advanced Alex after watching her struggle with her lungs a while. He stopped next to Alex and looked down at her, glaring daggers through her. "You truly are like your father, Hunter." He spat out, His tone venomous. "You shouldn't be so proud of it as it seems that you've inherited his foolishness too." He continued, circling the blood coughing Alex.

"You should. You should beg for my forgiveness, Hunter." Voldemort whispered. "As you didn't, I should've killed you." He continued mercilessly, His eyes flashing angrily.

Alex opened her eyes and looked up at her Lord in pain. He glared back in distaste.

"As a fair leader, I spared you today. Next time when you screw-up, you'll beg or die." Voldemort hissed dangerously, twisting His wand in His hand again. He slightly kicked Alex in the ribs as He didn't get an answer immediately, making Alex cry out in pain. "Yes, my Lord." The young witch gurgled and coughed roughly, spitting her blood everywhere.

Voldemort showed no interest in Alex after her forced agreement. He knew He had caused the young one unbearable pain and knew that she would not let Him down again. She would only try harder to please Him and when she would, He would be there. Oh, He was very sure that Alexis Hunter would do anything that it cost to be successful.

Glaring at the Malfoys for the last time, Voldemort disapparated.

Immediately after Voldemort left, Draco ran to Alex. "Lexie..." he whispered and squatted next to her. He saw his girlfriend in the worst state he had ever seen her and she wasn't exactly the most careful person in the world.

Alex turned to Draco and wailed silently. She was in horrible pain; every inch of her body screamed and her head was full of fog. She just didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to admit the humiliation that had took place in the Manor just minutes ago. Her Lord hadn't meant it. He had only showed her not to fail Him again, right?

Narcissa squatted next to Alex too, taking her hand into her own. She was shaking and her face was even paler than usual. Alex was like a daughter to her and she knew how much her son cared about the girl. She was willing to help but she also knew Alex would be hard to persuade. "You're not fine Alex-"

"I am-"

"-Alex, let me take-" All the three Malfoys flinched when a loud 'pop' informed of someone apparating. Lucius drew his wand out but lowered it instantly when the intruder turned out to be Bellatrix.

Bellatrix saw three dead people lying on the floor of the drawing room as she entered it. Her heart skipped a beat but when she saw that none of them was Alex, she already sighed in relief.

"Lucius." Bellatrix greeted politely. "Have you seen Alex? That son of-" She started but only when Lucius pointed to the barely breathing limb between Draco and Narcissa, she realized that the figure was Alex. The small girl was barely recognizable. She was torn to shreds, almost unconscious.

Bellatrix gasped, all of her anger vanishing into thin air as she rushed to the girl's side. "You idiot!" She whispered dumbly. Alex replied by barking a short laugh of self-irony and showing them all her bloody teeth.

"Go-o away. I don't nee-" Alex gurgled, annoyed. She wanted no help but needed it. "You fucking idiot!" Bellatrix whispered again, giving Alex's 'leave me alone' attempts no worth. "My fucking idiot." Draco corrected as he picked his girlfriend up, carrying her into one of the living rooms.

Alex had a foggy head but she was still conscious. She was placed to one of the expensive leather couches, careful not to hurt her more.

"Cissy, you know what she needs. Draco, your father needs help." Bellatrix spoke to both other occupants of the room. Mother and son both nodded and left the room, determined to do what asked. Bellatrix lowered herself next to Alex who was lying on the couch.

Bellatrix had a concentrated expression on her face as she inspected Alex. After a while, she articulated some difficult healing spells, twirling her wand upon Alex's injuries. Alex felt sharp pain in her left shoulder and hissed.

"You had a nine inch wood splinter there, idiot." Bellatrix told Alex as she took it away. Bellatrix healed the arm and stopped the bleeding immediately after. Alex let out a deep breath when it was over. It really hurt.

When she was done with the big injuries, Bellatrix sat down to the floor and started healing Alex's other little bruises. Alex just lied there, her eyes closed. She was fucking broken, literally.

Although Alex was a mess, she still wanted to have to last word, in the spite of her concussion. "You stubborn bastard." Alex mumbled, barely audible. "I told you I need no help." She opened her eyes, just to find Bellatrix staring back at her. The dark onyx eyes and the icy blue ones met. Bellatrix said nothing. Instead, healed the younger one's bruised eye.

Bellatrix saw behind Alex's acts. She was on the edge of destruction, worrying Bellatrix more than she would ever be able to admit.

Alex opened her mouth to press the matter further but decided against it when Narcissa entered the room. She had a little green bottle in her hands which she handed to Alex. "It's Venimor. Bottoms up, Alex." She said and smirked slightly, still as pale as a ghost. Narcissa left the room immediately after Alex had nodded her thanks and grabbed the bottle.

Alex gulped all of the green liquid down, feeling every inch of her body thanking her. She felt better than in a long time.

After a long more or less hateful staring contest, Bellatrix got up from the floor and sat next to Alex. The two faced each other; Alex glaring, Bellatrix eyeing. "You're not a little girl anymore Lexie, are you?" Bellatrix simply stated, inspecting Alex's face.

As Alex just kept angrily staring at Bellatrix, she continued. "You're...distant. To be honest Lexie, you seem to have lost yourself. I-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Alex spat and got up, loosing her mind faster than ever before. This time her legs supported her perfectly and she didn't fall down.

Bellatrix was astonished. Alex had never ever before interrupted her and she definitely hadn't told Bellatrix to shut up. She got up too, not sure if should believe her ears.

"What?" She spat out, giving Alex the opportunity to make her mistake up. "You heard me." Alex replied, a victorious smirk plastered on her face. "Shut the fuck up." She repeated, making Bellatrix's blood boil.

"I've done nothing but served our Lord the best I can-" Alex snarled, sneering slightly. "-and here you are, going soft and saving my ass in every possible place, making me look helpless and fragile-" She spat to Bellatrix's feet. "-and I have never once asked you to save me! I NEED NO PROTECTION!" Alex shrieked, just inched from Bellatrix's face.

Bellatrix had had enough. "I am NOT going _soft_ , you FUCKING IDIOT!" She shrieked, way louder than Alex, making her take a step back. "But you're obviously trying to harm yourself _everywhere_! If I wouldn't have saved you every freaking time you needed it..." Bellatrix took one deep breath and glared at Alex nastily. "-you would've already died over TWENTY FUCKING TIMES over these past six months!" She screamed. Anyone else in their right mind would've stopped there so of course Alex didn't.

"THEN I WOULD'VE DIED! How many times do I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT?!" The younger witch roared, hitting her fist through the empty air in her anger. "You own me NOTHING! WHY DO YOU BABYSIT ME?! Ha?!" Alex demanded, her face red from anger and her own blood.

"Because you're MY protege!" Bellatrix shot back, knowing it wouldn't matter to Alex. Nothing did anymore, it seemed.

"Yes I freaking am! I am also A HUNTER! If something TELLS YOU that I DO NOT need your protection, those TWO FREAKING FACTS do! I do-"

"STOP!" Bellatrix cried out and turned around. She was enraged. Her eyes were as wide as ever. "I've already saved you _not once but twice_ today, Lexie! Here's one of the reasons I have; you're too! fucking! young to die! DO YOU GET IT? WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM HA?!" Bellatrix shrieked and stopped. She breathed deeply and when she didn't get any answer, turned to face Alex again. She saw that Alex's mood had dropped from angry to death serious. She was clearly broken, from head to toe. She didn't share her thoughts with anyone and Bellatrix didn't know what was the reason behind the younger one's odd behavior.

"The problem is simple." Alex told calmly. Bellatrix lifted her gaze from to floor to Alex. "I don't want you to save me. I don't want you to care about me. I don't NEED you to. Your fucking precious time in this world is _ending_ one second at a time and you're wasting it, Bella. Leave me _alone_." Alex spat out, easily lying to herself and Bellatrix. She pulled her wand out, seeing how Bellatrix's expression went blank.

The older witch couldn't believe her eyes. Her own protege was raising her wand against her. Bellatrix didn't even draw her own wand out. She wasn't going to defend herself against Alex. "Lexie. Don't." She stated. She didn't ask nor beg but she stated. She was tired of this.

"I will if I have to." Alex spat. She was clearly messed up. Alex eyed Bellatrix for ten long seconds and when their eyes met, Alex immediately turned away.

"Bye, Lestrange." She coldly said and made her way to the door.

"Wait, would you?" Bellatrix asked. Her defeated tone made Alex stop but she didn't turn around. "Your needs and urges have nothing to do with this." Bellatrix stated knowingly. "Seriously, Lexie. Why do you...?" She didn't even know how to end her question.

Alex looked over her shoulder and after weighing her answers, not wanting to lie she replied the half truth. "Love is only to weaken me." After her statement, she quickly left the room, feeling Bellatrix's eyes boring through her even when she was already downstairs.

* * *

Downstairs when Alex reached the front doors, she was stopped leaving by Draco. He grabbed a hold of her wrist and held her until she looked up at him.

Only now, Alex noticed how bad Draco looked. He had lost weight, his usually so shiny blonde hair had lost its shine and he had bad cuts in his face. He looked desperate and that made Alex stay where she was even after Draco released his grip.

"You have changed." Draco stated silently, being careful not to scare the small girl away. "You have changed so much that I don't recognize you anymore. You're not yourself no matter what you exclaim. I love you, Alex and I don't know what I have left to do anymore. You're not the same girl I fell for. You've let the bad side of you take over." He cried, his voice shaking.

Alex felt the daggers in her wounds twist. She pushed the feelings aside and before she knew what she was doing..."You never fell for me. You fell for that better imaginary Alex of yours. You do have one thing left to do. Leave me alone, _Draco_." She spat, lying for the second time today. Her heart shattered to pieces but she didn't recognize the feeling as sadness. They were all just anger to her.

Alex wasn't quick enough to leave before seeing the hurt expression on Draco's face but it only made it easier. She wanted to leave. Alex turned on her heels and ran out from the front doors, leaving them wide open. She ran in the rain, ignoring Draco's desperate yells and when she reached the gates she disapparated immediately.

The young witch apparated to the place she knew almost as well as the Manor. She looked up to the sky and as the familiar dark feelings once again got the best of her, she knew what she had to do again. What she had to do and what she wanted to do. She stuck her hand into her pocket and when her hand collided with the small cold item, the adrenaline rushed through her like a tidal wave. _'I need nobody. I need pain.'_

* * *

 **So, this was it!** The actual start of my story! Hope you liked it, questions and reviews are welcome :)


	3. The promises

Author: Oh right, this is the third chapter! The fourth coming up as soon as I have time to write it :D

* * *

As his footsteps echoed in the dark corridor and the hot tears rolled down his face, leaving their trails to his cheeks, he trembled. He trembled and almost fell down. The journey from the front doors to the drawing room was almost impossible to make as his feelings kept pushing him down, but he forced himself to carry on. He had to. Draco needed to do this, he had to know. He had to stay strong for someone else than himself and he was fully willing to do it. He had no intention to give up and the person wasn't his only reason.

Draco wanted to be different than his father, not to even mention serving the Dark Lord. On the dark side, there was no such a thing as forgiveness, there was no such a thing as humanity. Maybe and just maybe, you had a clear mind and you used to be a nice person but when you joined the dark side, you lost it all. Not that everyone would've wanted to but everyone did. It was the truth. The older ones took you under their wings. They ripped your innocence into pieces, they shred every piece of your humanity away from you. Draco knew it, probably better than anyone else. He had experienced it and he had seen it happen. First Alex, then he.

In spite of the danger it consisted, he had to at least try and help his girlfriend. No matter if she would decide to hate him after it. Draco knew that there was only one person who knew how to help Alex. There was only one person who knew how to save her from herself. Bellatrix.

As Draco reached the drawing room, he knew that she was there. He didn't need to see her before he knew that her aunt was there. Draco stepped inside the room and before anything else, he locked the doors of the dimly lit room and whispered a silencing spell upon them. He needed no extra occupants or listeners to what would happen next. Not that he would've cared but it was just that he would probably die otherwise and he really didn't need that yet.

"She left, didn't she?" Came the raspy voiced question from beside the window. Draco turned around.

Bellatrix was sitting besides the window, wearing her usual black dress but without her corset. The dress was still in blood stains as the Alex incident had been a bloody one, and her hair was a mess. She was resting her feet on the windowsill and she had a wine glass in her right hand. In the dim light of the fireplace she looked almost calm but you never knew.

"She did." Draco coughed, knowing that he would get what he came for. He walked to the leather couch and sat down, facing Bellatrix. She was silently cursing to herself and balling her left hand into fist, almost spilling her wine.

"Why am I _not_ surprised that she did? Ha, when did she become such a coward?" Bellatrix spat out in a frustrated tone, a sad expression on her face, not really meaning it. She placed her wine glass to the ground and combed her hands through her wild mane of hair.

"Not a coward. A runaway. She became a runaway the day you changed and started to care." Draco whispered venomously and shifted on the couch, watching as Bellatrix's eyes flashed.

"What did you say, lad?" She whispered back, leaning forward with wide eyes.

Draco smiled shortly and leaned forward too. "You-" He articulated carefully, looking Bellatrix straight in the eyes. "-have changed."

Bellatrix seemed to think for a while. She had a unreadable expression, then she challenged her nephew. "You exclaim this why?" She had a death serious expression on her face but Draco just smiled. "I exclaim this because I have seen it. The softness in the way you look at her like she would be the apple of your eye. Alex."

Bellatrix looked quite baffled at first but then she gave up. Her expression changed into neutral one and she leaned back in her chair.

"Right." She stated, waiting for Draco to continue as she was quite incapable.

"Why have you changed?" Draco questioned as he changed his posture. Bellatrix needed no time at all, the answer came out instantly. "I have to live up to my promises."

"What promises?"

"Before her death, I promised Victoria Hunter that I would look after Alex as long as I'm alive." Bellatrix whispered.

Draco looked so baffled that Bellatrix would've laughed if she wouldn't have been almost crying already.

"Yes, we Death Eaters had some kind of a twisted set of feelings too." She remarked, continuing rather quickly. "I'm only telling you this because I know that you care about her even more than I do." Bellatrix stated, looking for any signs not to trust her nephew. The blonde nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Tell me everything." He whispered and got what he wanted.

"Since our first year at Hogwarts me, Victoria and Deacon were best friends. We did everything together, even the stupid stuff which often led us to detention." Bellatrix laughed sincerely and paused for a while, drifting back to her memories. "Then, when we grew up we automatically joined the Dark Lord." As fast as the happiness had gotten into her eyes, it was gone. Bellatrix's tone was deadly venomous as she continued.

"As the oldest one, DC joined in February the fourth, 1968. That was the exact the he turned seventeen. Me and Vic followed soon after. Me in May, Vic in September." Bellatrix's tone was joyless but she continued her story all the same, knowing that if she would stop she would never tell Draco.

"Vic and DC got married at the age if seventeen, and I was promised to Rodolphus. The difference was that they loved each other, me and Rodolphus didn't..." Bellatrix was quiet for a while, a hateful expression on her face.

"Alex was born the same year as you were. It was great you know, and everything was going fine. The Dark Lord was as powerful as ever and we were ruling a lot of things in the wizarding world...but then, Alex wasn't even one year old when it all came down."

"You mean when the Dark Lord 'died'?

"Yes, lad. Among many others, we three were caught before anyone had even the time to blink. I guess we could've had ran but we were proud. We were too proud, too young and too stupid." Bellatrix spat, her voice kind of desperate, kind of bitter.

"The trials were held immediately for us. We were the worst of the worst. We had tortured, we had killed and we had done it all with smiles on our faces, with a proud attitude. Even in the trials we were proud of everything we had done and didn't declaim anything...but I consider my sentence as a very easy one when I-...when I compare it to theirs." Bellatrix sighed.

"As you know, Victoria and Deacon Hunter were both kissed by dementors."

The words hung in the air, pressing every ounce of air down and raising the pressure of the room. Draco almost threw up, never getting used to hearing the thing.

"What you don't know, however, is that I saw it all and it drove me insane. In her death moment, Vic's words really stuck into my head. _'Look after Alex.'_ For years in Azkaban, all I saw was Vic's death moment and all I heard in my head were her words. All I wanted was to get to her, to get to my Lord and continue my life. But after all, I almost forgot who I was."

It all sounded almost too rough to be real, at least for Draco. He didn't get how his aunt had survived it all.

Bellatrix was already in tears when she continued. "You have to understand...I was really messed up when I got out of Azkaban and I never protected Alex as I was supposed to. She became so cold, distant and self-destructive and I encouraged her. Only when she was already in pain, I saw the same warmth in her temper than I had seen years ago in Vic's. It reminded me of the duty I carry towards Alex, it reminded me that I had to look after her."

Draco was already locked, too baffled to feel but when Bellatrix continued, he understood the words better than anything ever before.

"Vic always looked after me and kept the little fire in me alive in spite of all we did. She did bad things but wasn't a bad person. I guess no one is. Now, a year ago when Alex started to suffer it was very clear. But the suffering brought up her real temper even better and it was then when I saw the light in her and woke up, decided to change. If not for myself, then at least for her." Bellatrix finished, swallowing once again, taking her wine glass and taking a swing.

Draco stayed silent but when he spoke, Bellatrix was surprised. "It doesn't matter how you affected on her before. It matter's what we do now."

The raven-haired woman smiled slightly. "Look at you, what a wise young man you've become."

Draco shook his head but smiled. "Thank you." He whispered, knowing that Bellatrix knew what he meant.

And she really did. She knew she had opened a door of change to her nephew by telling of her own and when the blonde boy exited the room, she couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Oh, this was the worst. But I had to tell this all in this point. You're gonna hear about Alex the next time, don't worry. Reviews are welcome hehe :D


	4. Alive

Author: Oh, I'm so thrilled to write yet another chapter! Okay now, it took me way too long...yeah but let's just forget that, ay? Enjoy!

(The italic stuff are Alex's thoughts btw)

* * *

A new, loud howl of pain struck through the calm night. It ripped the air in two, forcing its way around the dimly lit, filthy hostel room. It reached no other ears than its owner's, keeping the room's secrets untouchable.

There was only one broken leather couch in the room accompanied by a lonely coffee table made of oak. One candle was lit but otherwise, the only light in the room was the moonlight.

In the middle of the room, there was one young witch sitting on the floor, a gleaming little item in her left hand. She was the only alive thing in the room but the coldest, nevertheless. _End it all. You own everyone that._

Alex's blue eyes squeezed shut when yet another howl escaped her lips, leaving a bitter mental aftertaste. For a moment, however, there was something more than pain, making the witch swim in pure ecstasy. It only lasted for two fine seconds and then it was gone _. Like you should be._ The pain was there again, only the coldness left behind, leaving no room for the long-waited feelings.

The darkness of the fall night reflected the young witch's thoughts perfectly. Darkness after darkness after darkness. She was suffocating under her own pain, under the never-ending darkness. She wanted it to end but didn't. She wanted everything to end but didn't. She was in the edge of ending everything and wanted no redemption, no help. She only wanted the release although she knew she didn't deserve it.

 _You deserve nothing anymore._

The marked arm was raised and in one flash of a silver, the other one was harmed.

The howls never changed, never silenced.

Alex's right sleeve was rolled up, leaving her small arm bare to the cold. From the elbow to the fingers, the pale arm was coated in blood. It had messed up Alex's cloak, the floor under her and the sharp silver knife in her left hand.

As Alex saw her own blood flow on the blade of the knife she couldn't help herself but think how it didn't seem any different from a mudblood's. It only made her hate herself even more, cut deeper and longer and scream more painfully.

It all almost made her laugh.

Alex's right arm was full of different sizes of cuts, from her fingers to her shoulder. There were small, almost invisible cuts and big scarred cuts. Every cut had brought more pain, more emotion and more life.

Alex had sat on that same spot for hours, sometimes falling unconscious. She had cut herself repeatedly time after time and always healed the cut after. Not immediately, not painlessly but slowly and painfully. Alex wanted the pain and the scars. She wanted the marks, the scars to tell her she was still alive. She wanted to feel, to be reminded _who_ she was. Alex was in a situation where she didn't know herself anymore.

This, of course, wasn't the first time that Alex hurt herself. She had started it the day her sixth year at Hogwarts had started. There was this secret passage under the Whomping Willow which led to the Shrieking Shack. It had always been one of Alex's favorite places in Hogwarts including the Black Lake. First of all, no one ever came there and Alex had been able to breathe in peace and sometimes even cry or scream. Secondly, no one ever questioned the screams coming from the Shack.

Nobody knew that Alex just needed it, she needed the pain to feel something more than anger because the anger, the blinding red anger was all she felt. The anger was something that was always there. It was in the way of other feelings, it controlled her and made her head all foggy. It was useful in the missions given but it was the anger that controlled her, not her that controlled the anger.

Once again, the feelings faded away, leaving the pain that made Alex gasp loudly.

"Fuck." The strangled whisper echoed in the room, staining the already filthy walls with its venomous way. The sharp knife dropped to the floor from the shaking hand of the young witch and a wand was raised to heal the last cuts.

After the wand was placed back into the left sleeve with a huge difficulty, Alex was left shaking. It was completely silent. Horribly silent. She was able to hear her own heart beats. The blood that was left in her body was rushing through her, to the places most needed. It was pumping red behind her eyes, her ears. Her brain were screaming at her for being so shameful, her body begging her to end it all, her hands combing through her silky black hair. She had no control.

In the silence the voices took over everywhere. They were screaming, whispering and laughing. First Alex lost her heart beats. She heard them no more. Then the voices got louder. Alex heard whispers, screams, laughing. It was like she would've been in the middle of jungle, the noise was unstoppable. She looked around the room, saw no one but didn't understand she was alone.

The room was silent but Alex's head wasn't.

They always tell you the first heartbreak is the worst. What about the first time you hear voices when you've cut yourself and drank?

The noise was getting unbearable. Alex had her hands on her temples, pressing her head as if trying to squeeze the voices out. They were mocking her.

 _Such a shameful girl._

 _What a disappointment._

 _End it. It's easier._

 _END IT._

"No...No...Stop...Please stop..." The broken witch begged the voices that no one else heard. She was crying and shaking, pressing her temples, looking for the owners of the voices.

She was alone.

The voices only got louder, driving Alex nuts. She was on her knees, her forehead pressed against the floor, almost begging. "Stop...Stop..."

"Please stop!"

Her nerves getting the better of her, her brain screaming in pain, Alex finally broke.

As the scream left her mouth, the voices stopped. They disappeared. The agony didn't.

Alex screamed and screamed.

The young witch screamed until her voice broke.

 _Is this what you've became?_

* * *

Half an hour later, an empty firewhiskey bottle was thrown towards the farthest wall. It hit the opponent, broke and the shattered glass flew everywhere.

A drunken Alex opened her room's door and stepped out, bleeding.

"WHERE ARE YOU?" she yelled. There was no one in the corridor.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?" Alex yelled again, walking down the corridor and reaching the stairs.

Originally, Alex had wanted to keep low profile but after all, none of the muggles knew that she was a criminal. Besides, the drunken Alex had no intention to act rationally.

"Hey IDIOTS?! You bastards...COME OUT AND PLAY WITH ME HA?!" the drunken sixteen-year-old shrieked, falling down a couple of steps.

Sprawled on the floor, Alex was helped up by the owner of the building. "Girl, it's 1am. There has been complaints enough today. You're out."

"Has anyone been looking for me?" Alex asked, not understanding she was being thrown out of the building.

She got no answer but was thrown to the streets of London, alone.

* * *

A gang of twenty-year-old men was hanging around their usual corner bar. It had started raining so they were not in the mood for walking elsewhere, not to even mention getting soaked. None of them had gotten lucky so far, so they were quite happy to see one young woman in a black cloak entering the bar.

She surely was drunk already, judging by the way she walked. She wasn't a light-weight in drinking however, although in every other way she was. It was clear to these men as the girl only asked for more the moment she came in, soaked as a cat.

"Hello beauty, what's your name?" Came the poor excuse of a flirt from the right side of Alex.

"I'm- you know what?! You...filthy muggle, 's none o' your business." Alex slurred, downing the strong shot given by the irresponsible bartender.

The man's friends laughing at the background, he himself turning into multiple colors of crimson, he got mad in a split second.

"You called me what, you stupid little brat?" He hissed ridiculously slowly, trying to gain his composure back after Alex's insult.

"Don't talk to me, ya'll such a...shameful." Alex slurred back, making no sense to the man at all.

"Answer me bitch." The man challenged the drunken sixteen-year-old who was out of the situation already. Alex turned to the man, focusing and squinting her eyes, trying to remember who she was talking to. She stood in silence, not moving.

No one predicted the first blow that came swinging to the man's face, leaving him screaming in rage. The next one, delivered to Alex's ribs, however, was highly predicted.

The pair was thrown out of the bar immediately, along came the man's friends.

Before she knew what was happening, Alex was in the middle of a figting circle. The man's friends circled her, leaving her no option of escaping.

The muggle man advanced Alex, ripping his coat off in the rain. "You wanna fight? We're gonna fight!" He yelled at the coughing Alex who lay in the ground, trying to get a hold of herself.

She was given no time.

The first kick felt the most, Alex decided, as she almost passed out after three hard kicks aimed and delivered at her ribcage.

"Bitch can talk but can't act!" The man yelled to his friends, who were cheering around the two. He didn't take any notice on the small girl on the ground.

Alex had risen up, wobbling on her feet. She was out of breath, vomit rising up in her throath but she was not to give up. Hunters never did.

Her punch was good to nothing. She knew she held no chance but that...excited her. She fell against one of the men, just to get pushed back to their own private ring.

Alex closed her eyes, swimming in pure ecstasy. It wasn't the whiskey, the cutting. It was the adrenaline that the fighting and the new kind of pain brought.

"What's wrong with her?! She's smiling..." The man asked his friends, getting irritated by the laughing of his friends and his smiling opponent.

"She won't smile no more..."

After one knock-out punch delivered in the head, Alex stumbled forward and collided with a dumpster. She felt her eye warming up, her ribs screaming at her and her head loosing it all.

Even still, after the men left her, thinking she was dead, she released a laugh. The pain was once again only a small side effect of a greater good.

Alex felt alive.

* * *

I know it was messy but anyway...hope you umm...liked it. (Not quite sure can you like it when it was so dark all the way) As a summary of what happened: Alex was once again cutting herself and she was drunk. She was in muggle world, out of Bella's reach (or anyone else's). She started hearing voices out of nowhere but didn't understand those were voices, not people. She drank more, got out of her room and looked for the voices which got her thrown out of the building. She went to a bar (too drunk to notice where heading yeah I know) and got into a fight with a grown man. She got beatrn up but instead of feeling bad, she felt alive.


	5. Fine

Author: Oh well, here I am again, writing you a story about Alex :D I was wondering if I haven't been specific enough with **Alex's looks.** I recall telling you she was small for her age when she was ten (hadn't turned eleven yet, born in December) and attended Hogwarts. Oh and in the first chapter, I did mention her looks shortly. Yeah, I have also mentioned her piercing blue eyes every once or twice...but umm anyway, I was only wondering this because I, myself, personally hate it if I don't have enough material to imagine something. So, **Alex** **has** narrow face, a little hollow cheeks, high cheekbones, those piercing blue eyes I personally babble about in every possible chapter, thick eyelashes, a tad more tanned skin than porcelain (which is very uncommon for a pureblood witch, I assure you) and a long, silky black hair. She is quite slim and short (around 5'2 feet and 92 pounds, imagine that). She usually wears her combat boots (black leather) and her expensive, heavy "Death Eaterish" black cloak. Rest is up to you but I just wanted to make sure no one has a hole in their head when thinking what she looks like :D okay but now...Enjoy!

* * *

September came around faster than anyone expected. August faded away with its warmer weathers, leaving the colder ones upon the country. It rained more every day and the darkness of the night won the day time, taking its toll on everyone.

Where the muggles spent their days working, eating and sleeping, the wizards and witches around the world spent theirs worrying. Voldemort was gaining His strength and His group of Death Eaters only grew and grew. It started to seem like the darkness was an unstoppable force.

The Order was reaching its breaking point, seeing as their army was greatly starting to loose in numbers. Half of their army missing, only half of them safe, they were helplessly screwed. Already thinking that they would have to refrain even their smallest movements to keep their small army alive, they missed one valuable fact.

One of Voldemort's most valuable Death Eaters was missing. No one had any idea where Alexis Hunter was. Not even the one's tutor herself. The young troublemaker had disappeared a month ago, by herself. And she hadn't come back.

Thruthfully, Alex had not seen any reason to go back. The Dark Lord had kept low profile since the night He left the Manor - after...giving Alex a lesson. He hadn't called for her and if He hadn't called for her, He hadn't called for anyone. She knew it.

Even though Alex despised the muggle world, she had stayed there. It was the only place she was able to leave a small mayhem behind her without being noticed or recognized. It was the only place where the aurors weren't waiting for her behind every corner. It was the only place she was able to avoid everyone.

It had all worked out just fine for her, waiting for her Lord to call her and fighting muggles in the side. Frequently.

It had topped cutting. It was her newest and strongest addiction. Fighting. It made her feel all light-headed, it made her forget her every responsibility. It made her feel.

It was like the young one's personal heroine. She never got enough. Yet, after a month, when she woke up on a Thursday morning, she was reminded of who she was.

 _Groaning in pain, Alex dropped from the couch she had been sleeping on. Lazily, she drew her wand from her left sleeve, getting up. Who the hell dared to attack her while she slept?_

 _She looked around the overly small room, finding only herself and the coffee table. Her breath hitching in her throat, she froze, praying that the voices weren't coming back. For an answer, the pain in her arm grew, turning into a familiar, burning sensation._

 _Alex's eyes widened, her wand hand raising up to the level of the icy blues._

 _The Dark Mark was convulsing, burning in the colors of red. Calling for her to go back to Him. Back to her Lord._

 _Alex's lips broke into a cruel smirk, a small barking laugh releasing itself from her throat. She was needed!_

 _Throwing her cloak on, stuffing her pocket knife into her pocket, Alex looked around the room once more, confirming that there was no remarkable evidence of her staying left. Satisfied enough, she took the last deep breath and dissapparated._

Alex stood in front of the Malfoy Manor's gates, breathing in the cold fall air. The air was filled with despair, otherwise the Manor looked as grim and proud as usual. The only lacking thing was its usual shine in the danger of the war. The garden surrounding was a spitting image of darkness. The colorful flowers had lost all their cheeriness, taking the last shreds of humanity with them. The only difference between the day and the night was the sun.

The last rays of sunshine formed a shadow of the girl who was eyeing the familiar gates silently, wondering if she was still welcome.

Taking a step forward, Alex placed her wand hand against the gates, whispering 'getih'. The huge gates swung open, inviting the small witch in. _They have waited for me to return voluntarily, how pathetic._ Alex thought, spitting to the ground beneath her feet. After the last deep breath, she marched over to the front doors and walked in.

Feeling her Dark Mark pulling her towards the farthest dining hall, Alex gave into intuition and took her direction by it. After all, following her intuition had made her one of the most powerful Death Eaters of all time.

Hearing two very different kind of voices coming from the dining hall, Alex knew she was in the right place. She walked closer, stopping just before she entered, pulling her hood deeper, rolling her cloak sleeves down. At times, Alex was truly thankful for her over-sized cloak, this time being no exception.

After three slow heartbeats, Alex finally entered the room. It was one of the most decorated rooms in the whole manor. There were furniture that cost more than one's house or private summer cottage. Alex was used to it though, her uncle Byron had always enjoyed having expensive furniture around. 'Only the ones not worth magic keep cheap muggle furniture around, Alexis', he used to say.

Instantly after entering the room, Alex bowed deeply. She knew that the Dark Lord was there before she even saw Him. Raising her head, she spotted Him staring at her, an unreadable expression on His snake like face. Turning her head the slightest, she found a crooked wand aimed at her by the one and only Bellatrix Lestrange.

The older witch had a angry and emotionless expression on her face, telling of her frustration. She looked like she was itching to torture someone. It was fully visible even to Alex who was hiding under her hood.

Unable to suppress the anger from rising its ugly head, Alex lifted her hands above her head mockingly.

"Are you going for a kill now?" She whispered in a venomous tone, glad to see Bellatrix loose her inner battle as she recognized her voice.

Expression faltering slightly the dark witch lowered her wand as the younger one glared daggers through her from under her hood.

Hardening herself, propping her chin up and sneering, Bellatrix placed her hands on her hips. "I shall not kill you, not before you have completed your duties for our Lord anyway. Sit, protege!" She barked, making Alex crunch her nose in distaste. She obeyed anyway, knowing that disobeying would raise un-wanted questions.

However, Voldemort did not miss the tension between the two. He smiled cruelly, enjoying the fact that His youngest Death Eater wasn't under her elder's wing anymore. The less people gave her attention, the more she would seek for it. He would be there, when she became even more powerful than Lestrange. He would be there, offering her even more power on His army than she already had.

The Dark Lord was a calculating man. He had seen the potential in Alex when she was only fourteen and she had proven herself the best ever since. The Dark Lord trusted her, as well as Lestrange, and was going to train her until she had no limits. She would be useful indeed. Smirking cruelly, Voldemort sensed the growing tension between the witches, hoping it would eventually blow up.

One by one, the other Death Eaters entered the room, each and every one of them taking in the appearance of the young witch. No one asked questions nor spoke to Alex but she was able to sense that her identity was a burning question in everyone's mind.

As the meeting began, Alex stayed silent. She had nothing wise to say, as she didn't even know where they stood at the moment. She listened intently, avoiding eye-contact with Bellatrix's concerned eyes which burned holes in her head.

As it came out, there was a mission ready to be completed. The Dark Lord wanted a ten men group to invade Hogwarts, to take it under their control. There was no better way to scare the Order than break into their beloved school. The Dark Lord knew it, counting on Severus and the Carrows. They would keep the students under their control easily and with the help of His best Death Eaters, the Professors would do nothing. It was simple and brilliant. It was a strike straight into the heart of the Order.

"The ones who will complete the mission given are Greyback, the elder Malfoy, the Lestrange brothers, Nott, Avery, Travers, Rookwood, Bellatrix and - Hunter." The Dark Lord informed, letting His gaze wander around the table, eventually stopping at Alex.

"Hunter..." Voldemort hissed, glaring at the small hooded figure at the other end of the marble table, not leaving any other options for the identity of the one. Not brave enough to speak, the other Death Eaters shared glances, some looking victorious for having the troublemaker back, some baffled, wondering where she had been.

Raising her head, looking in the eyes of her master from under the blood-red hood, Alex leaned forward, an eager expression on her face.

"Yes, my Lord?" She rasped, her voice still soar from the lack of using it.

Getting up from His 'throne', Voldemort walked away from the table, calling Nagini to rest on His shoulders, making many occupants in the room flinch.

"Are you willing to obey the orders given this time?" The ice cold voice echoed in the dining hall, sending shivers down the younger Malfoy's spine. He was terrified but at the same time relieved that Alex was back in one piece. Draco had recognized the small frame of his girlfriend the moment that he had entered the room but now when she spoke again and he heard the difference in her voice, it made his blood freeze.

Her cheeks burning with anger and embarrassment, Alex straightened her back and with all the confidence she was able to muster, she said: "I am, my Lord. I will obey. I won't let you down, my Lord."

"You won't let me down..." Voldemort spat out, turning to Alex. He knew exactly how to get her undivided attention, how to play with fire. She was never the one what it came to insulting her. "How will I know, if I can count on you after you let me down so badly?" He pressed, the other Death Eaters observing the situation intently.

Pulling the hood deeper, gripping the chair she was sitting on, Alex swallowed thickly. "I-..." For once, the young Hunter had nothing to say. She couldn't put a finger on when she had became the clueless one but nevertheless, it humiliated her and she hated it.

Loading the gun that was the youngest one of His followers, Voldemort shook His head in disapproval and smirked cruelly. "Ah, seems like hiding from your Master isn't enough...-" He hissed. "-...you lost your words too, like...- a coward."

That made the trick. The blood-red hood was flipped off in under a second, revealing the beaten up face of Alexis Hunter.

Alex's left eye was still black and slightly swollen from the night before. Her right cheek was badly bruised and she had a big cut in her upper lip. The expressions that the others wore didn't left the small girl guessing. In their eyes, she looked broken. She looked defeated. In the eyes of her Lord...she didn't want to know.

Not turning her head away, showing no emotions, Alex stared straight ahead at her Lord. She had nothing to loose anymore. She was revealed. Now, the only thing she had to make sure was that no one would mistake her for a weak one. "Never mistake me for a coward, my Lord. Trust me, my Lord." Alex rasped, avoiding Bellatrix's murdering stare from the other side of the table.

Never letting His gaze falter, searching for any signs of weakness, the Dark Lord stared at Alex. Where the weaker ones would've already given up, the girl held her stare. Noddind in approval, the Dark Lord turned away, leaving a heavy silence hanging into the air. The girl was ready to be broken. Ready to commit to Him eternally.

"You may all dismiss. I need to be left alone."

With that command, every single one of the Death Eaters got up, bowed deeply and left. One of the first ones to exit, was Alex. She had no intentions to stay any longer than she had to. She had better things to do before the tomorrow's attack, she had anger and frustration to get rid of.

As if it would've been too easy to only come back when called and then leave again, Alex was pulled into the main sitting room of the manor, before she got to reach the front doors. A sharp stinging spell was cast on her face and her left arm was groped, her wand taken away from her sleeve.

As she fought herself free from the dephts of her hood, she wasn't surprised to be faced by the raven-haired dark witch. Being pushed against the wall, the young witch had no chance to run away, especially with her wand taken away from her. Still, she couldn't just back off like a goody-two-shoes. Not in a million years.

Struggling slightly, even though knowing it's useless, Alex spat at the face in front of her and smirked diabolically. "You do realize that I'm capable of hurting you without my wand too, hm?" She asked, tightening her grip around the hands that kept her against the wall. The dark orbs stared back at her, a long lost fire burning in them.

"You'd be wise not to threaten me." Bellatrix growled, pushing her protege harder against the wall. She was pissed off and didn't hide it well. Eyeing the torn face that was her protege's, her anger only grew.

"Explain."

Laughing a dry laugh, Alex threw her head back and closed her eyes. Bellatrix could play her games all she wanted but Alex was far past fearing the witch or respecting her as a superior. It's not like she wouldn't have known how deadly Bella was able to be when she wanted to. She just didn't care.

Feeling two hands making their way around her neck, Alex's lips broke into a sadistic smirk. This would not last for long.

"I wasn't asking. Explain!" Bellatrix shrieked, curling her fingers around her protege's neck. She was getting furious. She was done with the young runaway.

Opening her eyes and eyeing the older witch mockingly, Alex shifted a little. "I don't think I have to, Bella." She stated in a playful tone, smoothing the hands that were curled around her neck. "I think you have figured this out." Alex taunted, raising her right hand slightly, so that the sleeve fell back, revealing her scars and the tied-up hand.

Her eyes widening slightly but not betraying her, Bellatrix released her grip on Alex's neck, taking her right hand on her own instead. Getting a quick look at the wounded arm before it was pulled back, she shivered involuntarily. Yes, she had figured this out indeed. Something - or many things - was seriously wrong with Alex.

"There came the confirmation." Bellatrix stated seriously, all her anger gone, only the worries left. There was a foot of distance between the two now, Alex leaning to the wall.

"You have to stop."

Her anger raising again, Alex shifted her gaze a little, lowering it.

"I am fine." The sentence hung in the air, poisoning it completely.

Throwing her hands to her sides, not willing to believe her ears, Bellatrix took a step forward and closed the distance between herself and her small protege. Taking a grip of the younger one's chin, forcing her to meet her eyes, Bellatrix felt horrible.

"You are everything else but fine. You are obviously beaten up and if I know you at all, it's not by accident." The raven-haired witch said, suppressing her urge to kill someone because of the suffering of Alex.

"I am fine." Alex repeated, trying to keep herself from hurting someone or something. She didn't want Bella to know about her - complications. Not in a million years. She had to get out of this interrogation and soon or she would black out.

"Oh, you think living in a lie is easier, don't you? You think that being emotionless is easy?" Bellatrix growled, getting annoyed all over again.

 _You play the game, I play it too._ Alex thought, sensing Bellatrix's annoyment.

"Because let me en-fucking-lighten you. It's not!" The dark witch spat out, making her protege flinch by keeping her in a death grip by her chin. "So you better open your bad little mouth and start telling me why you do this - what ever you fucking do - to yourself and why, or I'll torture the information out of you - because you, Lexie, are still to be saved!" Bellatrix yelled, seeing a tear to make its way down Alex's cheek.

Sensing her victory, Bellatrix continued but softened her tone a little bit. "I've seen something good in you behind your pitch black dark side. Even though we do what we do for our Lord's cause we don't have to suffer." Another tear, oh sweet victory.

Releasing her grip on Alex's chin, Bellatrix stepped back a foot. Looking down at her silent protege, her heart broke a little. The girl was so broken and messed up that it would be unbeliavably hard to get her back on the track again. But she was all in. Not just because she had promised to take care of Alex a long time ago but also because she needed Alex too. The small troublemaker could actually be a decent human being when she tried.

Looking up at Bellatrix, Alex took a deep breath. "Am I?" She asked silently, standing up a little straighter. "Am I to be saved?" She whispered again, turning away, like trying to hide her tears.

Placing her hand on the smaller witch's shoulder, Bellatrix looked out of the window, considering her next words dearly. Turning back to Alex, she was faced with a young torn face which held a sadistic smirk on it. Realizing everything too late, Bellatrix's hand that was placed to the other one's shoulder was roughly twisted, causing her to loose her balance. Feeling horrible pain in her wand hand, Bellatrix got straddled even before falling down properly.

Sitting on Bellatrix, Alex grabbed the witch's wand and threw it away, taking her own from the witch. Placing the tip on the older witch's throat, the blue-eyed witch's lips broke into a cruel grin.

"Well, would you look at that! I was already starting to think that I had lost my ability to cry as the fucking voices made me rage so unbeliavably hard on those first times they emerged that I thought I had no tears to cry anymore but as you can see, it turned out, I can!" Alex babbled, sarcasm dripping from her every word.

Bellatrix tried to struggle away from beneath Alex but failed miserably even though she held the upper hand on their size. She was no match for a messed up Alex who was helding her wand and she wasn't.

"So, like I said. I _am very capable_ of hurting you." Alex whispered, leaning forward to meet Bellatrix's eyes, dragging her wand down the side of her captive's throat.

Sensing no fear on Bellatrix anyway, Alex's threatening expression changed into a amused one and she started laughing. "Oh." Laughing hard, "I see we hold no fear for each other at all! Would you look at that!" She laughed, making the older witch shiver in distaste.

The laughing stopped in a second, Alex leaning down to meet Bellatrix's eyes again. "But you really should hold a little fear for me. You don't know why, I guess?" Alex taunted Bellatrix, sensing the beast inside the older witch waking up, ready to fight. "Well, it's almost nothing like, I will just personally kill you the next time you approach me with your 'save soul' speeches."

Getting up rather quickly and sending Bellatrix's wand flying out of the window, Alex looked at the older witch when she staggered to her feet.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow, taking over Hogwarts and all, you know." Alex mocked in a cheerful tone. Sparing her last ice cold look over to Bellatrix, she jumped out of the window and once outside the gates, she dissapparated.

Taking a few unstable steps, Bellatrix managed to get to the window. Seeing nothing but the darkness and the glimmering gates, she sighed. "What have you become, Lexie?"

* * *

An hour later, when the feeling of victory had turned into a feeling of loneliness, the voices came back and invaded Alex's head once again. There was nothing unexeptional about that. Except that for this time, the voices were Bellatrix's.

 _You think living in a lie is easier?_

 _You, are still to be saved._

 _We don't have to suffer._

Her nerves getting the better of her, drinking a bottle of firewhiskey and once again ending up to the streets fighting, Alex eventually ended up lying into a dumpster.

This time there was no feeling of relief after the fight, there was no adrenaline. There was only fear. Only fear and loneliness and depression and - there were too many emotions for the small girl who didn't even recognize herself anymore.

 _You think that being emotionless is easy?_

 _You better open your bad little mouth-_

 _You are still to be saved._

"Fucking Bella." Sighed the girl who felt something for the first time in months. And tonight she didn't cry because she was angry. She cried because she was broken.

 _We don't have to suffer._

* * *

That was it! Thank you, let me know what you think. :) Next chapter coming up.


	6. Don't

Author: **Listen up everyone, please be so kind**. I MADE SOME CHANGES TO THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS. **SO:** Everyone knows that Alex's parents were kissed by dementors. It's a common knowledge. (unlike I told before in the chapters 1 and 3) Alex's big downhill started when she met Bellatrix (who still didn't care for her, too broken herself) and especially when she became a Death Eater. She only got worse ever since. It wasn't just some coincidence.

As a child she always was a trouble but didn't understand the thing herself. She still had the innocence in her, although she was reckless. When she was tortured by Voldemort for the first time in chapter two, she thought it was her fault and she deserved it. Which made her hate herself even more.

But however, chapter six already :D And God knows how many chapters are still to be written, heh. Anyway, here we go!

* * *

 _"You have to mean it."_

 _"That's all?"_

 _"Don't ask meaningless questions. You do that with me, you will do that with everybody. In the worst case with our Lord and He will not accept that. Clear?"_

 _A fifteen-year-old Alex fiddled with her wand and swirled around the sunny field, practicing her duelling moves. She was silent, fast and brilliant but her concentration - it literally sucked._

 _The older witch, that the rest of the world knew as the Dark Lord's right hand, circled her protege with a stern expression. She saw the talent in Alex but sensed the restlessness too, not being quite sure how to get rid of it. The young Hunter needed to focus on her training, otherwise she would not become as powerful as she was to become. Besides, she wasn't even near being as mature as she should've been._

 _"I asked, is this clear to you, Lexie?" Bellatrix repeated and stepped in front of her protege, locking her onyx eyes with Alex's sky-blue ones._

 _"It is, Bella." Alex answered and smirked a little, loosing the last bits of her concentration. "But, buuut - you've made me practice these moves-" Swirling steadily, Alex whipped her wand. "-the whole day. I'm getting rather bored." She informed Bellatrix and aimed her maple wand at the older witch, her eyes gleaming._

 _"Please, Bella, challenge me." Alex sighed - her voice barely audible - and advanced the older witch, slashing the air with her wand._

 _A small smile lingering on her lips, Bellatrix nodded. The girl truly needed some serious challenge. Maybe a challenge would also help her to concentrate._

 _As Bellatrix saw the bonfire that lit up in Alex's eyes, her smile turned into a smirk._

 _Raising her wand and swirling it in a perfected, practiced moves, Bellatrix turned away from Alex. "Focus on my wand movements, young one. You have to control this spell, or it will control you,-"_

Batting her eyelashes, Bellatrix turned away from the window. She had stared into the distance and lost her trail of thought. It had all led her into her old memories, painfully reminding her about how everything had changed.

The Dark Lord getting nearly paranoid, their ranks dying on His own hands. The Order getting stronger, tracking down Death Eaters and doing some backdoor politics to stop the Master of Death. Her own family cracking apart and her being the reason. Her being the reason to many, many horrible things. She turning on her humanity and feeling...frightened. Alex changing. Alex hurting herself very badly. Alex's bad side winning the good side. Draco suffering.

Everything, everything had changed.

Hearing a knock on the door, Bellatrix once again snapped out of her musings and swallowed thickly. She was not to become weak now. Not before, not now, never.

"Yes?" She asked quietly, turning to the window once more. The fog was rising from the ground, the early rays of sunlight barely piercing it. The fall had won the late summer completely, creating a beautiful change in the piece of art that was the nature.

The door was carefully opened, revealing a blonde head and a pair of ice cold eyes.

The marvellous sky-blue robes flowing after her, Narcissa Malfoy entered the library with a few steps. Her opposite-of-an-angel sister didn't turn around but Narcissa knew that Bellatrix didn't need to. No one inside the manor was fool enough to attack her from behind.

"Am I wrong assuming that you are to _visit_ Hogwarts today?" Narcissa asked, her expression staying the same. Even though her tone was edgy, it did not give away the trepidation that she felt.

"No. You're not wrong." Bellatrix voiced, her usually cold tone sounding rather tired.

Taking in a calming breath, Narcissa pushed a strand of blonde hair behing her ear and with a measured tone said: "In that case, I advice you to wait for _them_ in front of my gates. You know that they'll apparate there anyway."

Turning around and eyeing her younger sister for a moment, Bellatrix took a long time wondering what she should say.

"Thank you, Cissy."

Her expression stern, the youngest Black sister exited the room, leaving a frustrated Bellatrix behind. She was overly annoyed by the fact that she couldn't show Narcissa the way she had changed. It wasn't much but neverthless: it surely was more than nothing. Sighing, the dark witch turned on her heels and disapparated to the gates.

Outside the library's closed door, the woman known as the Ice Queen sighed heavily, rooted to the floor. She was sick of the war and worried about her son and husband, her sisters and Alex. There weren't words enough to describe the fear she felt under the cold exterior - and there were never going to be.

 _"How's your uncle, Alex?" Narcissa asked, when the small second-year Slytherin slumped down on one of the couches of the manor's main drawing room, closely followed by Draco. The duo had returned from Hogwarts for Christmas and Narcissa was slightly worried - not that she would've showed it in any way._

 _"He's fine, I guess."_

 _Draco was obviously okay - there was nothing wrong with him - but it was his best friend that Narcissa was keeping her eye on. Narcissa knew that Alex could be a true trouble when she wanted to._

 _The only thing that the blonde hoped was that Alex wouldn't have caused as much trouble as she had on her first year. It was not good for her reputation that she was to up hold._

 _Not wanting to press the girl, knowing it would do no good for anyone, Narcissa only nodded and voiced the next questions._

 _"How was school, Draco? You two won quidditch games, yes?"_

 _Her twelve-year-old son grinning widely, Narcissa couldn't help but broke into a small smile too. "We did win two quidditch games! You know what, mother? In the other one Alex made so much points for us that we would've won even if I hadn't caught the snitch!"_

 _Even though she knew this already, Narcissa turned her glaze at Alex and mumbled encouraging words to the girl, giving her the support she obviously needed._

 _Grinning sheepishly, Alex turned to Draco and nudged him. "As if you wouldn't have caught the pocket-sized sucker. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws have no chance. They have mudbloods as their seekers, don't they? Duh." Alex said as if it would've been the clearest thing on the surface of the Earth._

 _"Well, the filthy Gryffindors would've not stood a chance either if you had been in the final game, so..." Draco retorted, a playful glint in his eyes. Pulling a face and showing her tongue to Draco, Alex crossed her arms._

 _"Why didn't you play against the Gryffindors, Alex?" Came the question from Narcissa. Not answering, Alex only grinned wider and turned around, raising her feet up. She lay on the couch upside-down and looked at Narcissa, a playful twinkle dancing in her eyes._

 _"Well, Alex has probably spent more time in detentions than anywhere else." Draco laughed, sparing a look at her friend whose head was getting a little red from the funny posture she was in._

 _"What for...?" Narcissa asked, a little desperation in her voice, wondering to herself if she really wanted to know. She had talked about boundaries with Alex before, trying to make_ _the girl to stay out of unnecessary trouble; with no success, obviously. Alex just didn't see the difference between acceptable and forbidden deeds._

 _"Everything, literally." Draco piped in, before Alex had the chance. Coming out of her bubble of desperation, Narcissa focused on listening once more._

 _"Haven't killed or tortured anyone_ yet _so you can't say that I've done everything." Alex stated, giving Draco a hard time when trying his best to suppress his laughter under his mother's glare._

 _"That is-" Draco started, a glint in his eyes "-unless you happen to count levitating Oliver Wood-" Alex's eyes widened. She bolted upwards and jumped on Draco, trying her best to shut his mouth with her hands, failing miserably. "-all the way up to the tree branch and bombarding him with cones as torture. At least the professors kind of did. Alex's detention continues straight after the Christmas break."_

 _"Oh dear me, is that true?" Asked Narcissa, getting up from the armchair she had been sitting on and took the young girl by her arm, pulling her to stand in front of her. Looking her in the eyes, Narcissa wanted to hear the truth from her._

 _Sensing her mother's change in mood, Draco decided it was better not to make it worse by staying. He had had no idea that her mother would react the way she did. Alex had done wild things before, hadn't she? Slowly getting up from the couch, silently mumbling about quidditch and his broom, Draco left the room._

 _Showing no regret or shame or what-so-ever, Alex looked Narcissa in the eyes. For a moment she looked like she was thinking about something way too hard._

 _After a good eight seconds of silence, Alex took a step forward and hugged the blonde witch, her small hands circling around Narcissa's middle back. Looking down on Alex, Narcissa hugged her back, wanting the explanation nonethless._

 _"He called me a midget." Came the words, barely audible._

 _Letting out a breath, Narcissa stepped back and looked Alex in the eyes. "Never let anyone to tell you what you are and what you're not. Don't you ever show them that they manage to push your buttons."_

 _Nodding, Alex stayed silent. Sensing that she was not going to get anything else out of the girl, Narcissa whipped her wand and opened the doors of the room. They led to_ _one of the corridors, just to the top of the grand staircase._

 _"Off you go. Draco misses you already, I can sense it."_

 _Breaking into the widest grin Narcissa had ever seen, Alex ran out of the doors and disappeared down the marble stairs. Shaking her head, Narcissa turned to the windows and watched as the sun went down. Deciding to head to the main dining hall, she turned away from the window. Only to turn back a second later._

 _From the corner of her eye, she saw Alex running in the backyard towards Draco who was polishing his broom, Alex's laying on the ground, waiting for its owner._

 _Eyeing the girl from distance, Narcissa couldn't help but feel afraid for her. For her and the future she was heading towards, with the speed of a lightning._

Taking her direction away from the library, Narcissa walked down the corridor of the first floor. Turning around the corner, she saw Alex's broomstick leaning against the wall next to the front doors. Her heart dropped slightly as she wondered if Bellatrix had managed to talk to the girl. According to Draco, she had looked bad.

Taking twelve steps to reach the windows next to the doors, Narcissa peeked outside. Bellatrix was standing outside the gates, staring into the distance. She was deep in thought, looking almost desperate.

In the name of Merlin, Narcissa wished not many things more than to get Alex home. Sparing the last look at her older sister, feeling almost guilty for acting the way she did, Narcissa left the window and strolled down the corridor, disappearing behind the corner.

Where Alexis V. Hunter had messed up her own life, she had messed up many other things too.

Bellatrix and Narcissa had been close once. In their childhood especially. They had all been; Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. Bella, Andy and Cissy. Of course, after staining their name by marrying a mudblood, Andromeda had been disowned by her family and she was never to be spoken again.

But just like nothing would've ever happened, the two other sisters stayed close. However, when the older sister became a Death Eater, the younger one grew apart from her. Bellatrix became cruel and emotionless - or at least she acted that way. Especially after loosing the Hunters and going to Azkaban, she lost her mind. Narcissa on the other hand never became a Death Eater, she didn't even become cruel. She simply shut off her emotions. Became the Ice Queen. Let it all pass her from the right and continue their journey to the left.

It all stayed the same way, until the Dark Lord came back. Bellatrix broke out of Azkaban and took Alex under her wing. The young troublemaker became something to look after together. As Bellatrix's protege and Narcissa's "daughter" - as the girl was her son's love and in need of a mother - Alex was never the one to mess with.

She lived her life as planned and expected; was superior in school, was a quidditch promise, was the Slytherin princess warrior. Never only a princess goody-two-shoes, you see. Of course, she had always been a little bit extraordinary and arrogant above everything else but at the time, it had been nothing to worry about.

Alex became a Death Eater - an awfully talented one - under Bellatrix's wing. She became devoted to their Lord. The Dark Lord changed her. The small girl grew apart from everyone. Became the lone wolf, worse than anyone.

Of course, without having the mutual interest, both worrying but being unable to express it, the sisters became distant again. Bellatrix turning her killer mood on whenever not having Alex around, Narcissa masking away her emotions: the package was ready. No emotions, no bonds. Apart, again...

Annoyed with her sudden emotional mood, Bellatrix shook her head as if trying to shake it all off. Standing in front of the gates, she sensed the arrival of another person behind her. Knowing very well who the person was.

Yesterday's arrogant mood clearly dead, Alex Hunter walked down the path between the great hedgerows, her hood down. She looked like a Saint, walking down the path so calmly.

Noticing that the black eye was open from its corner, swollen way worse than the day before and that her protege was limping, Bellatrix inhaled sharply. Alex was a fucking puzzle - a puzzle you weren't able to solve because so many pieces were missing.

"Morning." Came the simplest word but it swept away the one. Bellatrix eyed Alex, blown away. The younger one lowered her gaze to the ground, as if she would've been - would've been...sad? Bellatrix couldn't believe her eyes. It meant that Alex felt something after all and wasn't a lost cause. Not that she would've ever thought that way, but, who could blame her?

Now that she had Alex within an eight feet distance and not trying to rip her head off, Bellatrix did nothing else but eyed her. Took in the fucked up appearance of Alexis Victoria Hunter.

Her eyes were both raw and red, only the other one swollen. She had obviously been crying. The cut in her lip had only gone worse, looking bad as hell. Her right ear was bright red and looked like it had been rubbed against the asphalt. She wore the same cloak as always, the same combat boots. She looked nothing like the Alex who had disappeared from the manor a month ago but had already took a step closer of being the same Alex who she had been. Bellatrix knew it, the girl looked broken in a whole different way than yesterday. Yesterday she had been out of her mind, today - she looked small and almost vulnerable. Bellatrix had managed to get under her skin. Finally.

Bellatrix felt a small feeling of relief sweeping over her. She had missed the Alex who had levitated her plate out of the window, once she had been asked to take more food after declining. The Alex who had actually made Narcissa burst into a laughing fit after accidentally dying her hair blue. If they - Bellatrix herself and the other family members - were to get _that_ Alex back now, then _she_ especially needed to act carefully.

Hearing a cracking sound behind her, Bellatrix turned around and with the speed of a lightning drew her wand out. Raising his hands up slightly, Rabastan Lestrange leaned backwards, dodging Bellatrix's wand that almost sliced his throat.

Sneering in annoyment, the dark witch lowered her wand slowly, glaring Rabastan for no reason particularly. After all, he surely was way more nicer than his good-for-nothing brother.

After every single Death Eater who was meant to take part to the mission had found their way to the gates, Bellatrix cleared her throat, drawing the attention to herself.

"Everyone knows the drill." She started with a bored tone, eyeing everyone as if challenging them to tell her otherwise. "We shall apparate to the gates of Hogwarts to be let in by Snape. We shall cause mayhem and fear, in the professors especially. We shall let them know who are in charge of their itty pity lives." Bellatrix prep-talked, causing sadistic smirks to spread on some hardened faces. She was almost repulsed by her own speeches but did a marvellous job hiding it. She had to, she had no option.

"No one shall let down our Lord." She added. When nothing happened, Bellatrix snorted and raised her wand slightly. "The last one there might be the first one in their grave too." Leaving the gleaming gates of the Malfoy manor behind, the Death Eaters disapparated one by one. None of them wanted to test if Bellatrix was bluffing or not.

Being the last one to turn on her spot, Alex almost threw up. She felt sick to her stomach. The affects of not getting her release from anything, being scared, alone and beaten up to the bone were really getting to her. Still hearing voices - which had changed from Bellatrix's to a very twisted versions of the people she had killed and tortured - certainly didn't help. Nor did the feeling of suffocating agony that filled every cell of her body, burning her brain and heart.

Landing rather unceremoniously, Alex fell onto her knees to the muddy ground. Almost immediately she sensed eyes boring holes into her. Lifting her head up, she fixated her glare directly at Rabastan and Lucius who were both staring at her. As if signaling them 'Please, do give me _one_ reason,' Alex glenched her jaw and fists, squinting her eyes slightly as a warning.

The men turned away lazily, knowing better than to trigger the gun who was called A. Hunter. It wasn't really worth it, especially not before a important mission.

Slowly, Alex got up from the muddy ground and lifted her hood up, covering her face. Hiding herself from the world that was against her.

 _They were staring at you. You are a freak. You are WEAK._

 _(cackling) The worthless baby girl is starting to loooose it!_

Causing the air the crack and fizzle and the grounds to fill with black smoke, Bellatrix apparated only a foot away from the gates which were locked up and protected with multiple but rather uneffective spells. A twist that only Alex knew to be grimace, not a sadistic smirk, appeared on the dark witch's lips as she shot a purple spell to the sky to informed Snape about their presence.

Breathing in one steady breath, Bellatrix turned to look over her shoulder, fixating her onyx eyes on Alex.

"You, next to me."

 _You. Heard that? Maybe she's finally starting to realize that you're a lost cause. Not worth fighting for._ The voices taunted the small Death Eater who took ten painful steps to reach her place next to Bellatrix, a tremor shaking her insides.

Sparing a quick look at Alex, Bellatrix flinched as she heard a deep voice greeting her from the other side of the gates.

Severus Snape. A man of magnificent potion-brewing skills stood a few feet away from the gates, eyeing the group up and down. He gave nothing away: there was no disgust nor any other signs of emotions on his face. There was only the cold stare. He was - by fair - the most unreadable person anyone had ever met.

"Snape." Bellatrix shortly greeted, nodding approvingly. Not moving an inch, Alex tensed up next to her, preparing herself for what was to become.

 _What's the matter, are you scared? Of WHAT?! Mudbloods?_

 _(whistling) Woooorthleeeess-_

Opening the gates with a flick of his wand, never breaking eye-contact with Bellatrix, Snape started towards the castle.

Following him, keeping up with Bellatrix's pace, Alex eyed the grounds shortly. Nothing had changed, if you didn't count the dementors flying around the castle.

 _Oh, you see them? They are waiting..._

 _(screaming in sadistic delight) - FOR YOU!_

Shuddering and resisting her growing urge to empty her stomach, Alex turned her gaze away from the dementors. She was less than capable of casting a Patronus - she had no happy memories left, at all. Even if she had, she wouldn't have cast a Patronus. Dying in the hands of a dementor seemed like an easy choice to her.

 _Pretty please, you deserve so much worse._

Ignoring the taunts ringing in her head, the young troublemaker forced herself to carry on. Focusing on her footsteps and not the dementors, she managed to keep herself together. However, being the restless person that she was, Alex had to lift her gaze from the ground. Eventually, the wandering gaze stopped at the Black Lake.

 _She enjoyed the silence. It gave a balance to the all-singing, all-dancing brain of hers. She wasn't a calm person. Not to even mention rational. She just didn't know it._

 _The silence calmed her down, in a very special way. That was the only thing she understood out of it. There was no easy way to explain it but there wasn't a need either. No one knew that she sat there, on the same rock, every other darkening spring night. No one knew that she wondered why she lost it so quickly. She didn't mind the fact but seemingly often did it get her into trouble. Besides, no one else seemed to loose their nerves so quickly._

 _The Lake's surface broke as the raindrops hit it, splashing around wildly. Reaching her hand out and drawing patterns into the broken surface, Alex Hunter formed a cup of her palm and splashed the freezing autumn water on her face. She blinked furiously and gasped, as the droplets found their way under her cloak too._

 _Spitting the water from her mouth, Alex barely resisted the urge to scream her lungs raw. Never once had the ten-year-old been left so speechless and powerless than today. Never once had she felt so confused._

 _They had been in a normal Herbology lesson, on a normal Wednesday afternoon. Alex - being herself - had taken a handful of mud and thrown it at Granger. "Now your muddy skin and hair match your blood." She had told the bushy-haired genious, the other Slytherins behind her bursting into laughing fits. At that stage, Alex had expected for the mudblood to start crying and get all upset. Just like the other filths did whenever she reminded them about their rightful place below the purebloods._

 _But the girl had surprised her completely. Hermione Granger had only stared at her, a unreadable expression on her face. "I have magic in my blood too. Nothing makes you purer than me, Hunter." She had stated in her know-it-all manner, the words wiping Alex's signature smirk off of her face._

 _Her brain had betrayed her. She had lost her ability to speak. For the first time in her life Alexis Hunter had been left speechless._

 _Standing there, glaring at the mudblood, she really had thought about what she said. She too, had the magic flowing in her veins. So what made her blood any different from Alex's? What made her worse than Alex and her domain? Of course, her foolish muggle parents but...if she wasn't worth of their magic, how on earth had she ever ended up becoming a witch? Unable to form words, Alex had turned away and stayed shut for the rest of the lesson, her head spinning._

 _The mudblood had only messed with her, Alex decided, as she now sat on the rock and let the rain soak her for good. After all, there wasn't a mudblood who was an equal to a pureblood, was there? How could there be? Besides, nothing was more important than your blood. That's how Alex had been taught so she saw no reason for anyone to disagree. It was not like she would've been taught wrong. Right?_

The small group of heavily cloaked Death Eaters silently entered Hogwarts, their wands all drawn. Some of them wore their masks, some of them didn't. However, every single one of them were recognizable. Where the long blonde hair gave away Mr. Malfoy's identity, the Lestrange brothers were to be recognized by their striking similarities.

No matter how well-known the others were, the leading pair was by fair the most notorious. Bellatrix Lestrange and the youngest Hunter. Both of the witches looked death serious though - not proud and arrogant like usual. If something gave away the mission's nerve-wrecking affects - that did.

Oddly enough, Bellatrix seemed calmer than her blue-eyed protege whose mind was elsewhere, not in the task ahead. Anyone could've seen that; from the way Alex trembled to the way she licked her lips once in a while. Luckily, there was no one to witness the odd behaviour - except for the other Death Eaters who weren't stupid enough to call Alex on it. Annoying Hunter wasn't really worth dying.

As Snape disapparated to the Great Hall and left the group waiting, the time seemed to slow down for a moment. At least for Alex. Just for a moment. Her gaze wandered around the Hall and took in everything, the good and the bad.

Since her sixth year had she been a Death Eater in the castle, not a student. Sure, she had still managed well in school, played quidditch and done her best to annoy McGonagall and her Gryffindors. Neverthless, she had also assisted in the murder of Albus Dumbledore, laughing while she did. She still felt no regret or what-so-ever about the deed. She felt nothing at all.

Nothing but rage and it terrified her.

Suddenly someone took a tight grip of Alex's arm, preventing her of moving at all. Snapping out of her thoughts, the small witch looked to her right. She hadn't even realized that she was trembling roughly and moving on her spot.

 _Tell me now...how does it feel being all - lost? (giggling emptily)_

"Focus." Came the order from Bellatrix whose face was all emotionless and distant.

 _P_ _ffft_ _baby, focus..._

Alex knew very well that the older witch had cleared her mind to complete the mission as required. The younger witch started the same process, in a highly practiced manner.

She inhaled, emptied her mind and exhaled.

It was a calming habit that Bellatrix had forced her to go through before any missions. The dark witch had created it mainly because of Alex's lack of concentration but sometimes she had used it herself too. Getting in the right mind wasn't too easy after all.

Alex inhaled...

 _Oh - SHE'S TERRIFIED!_

She emptied her mind...

 _(laughing diabolically) SHAMEFUUUL_

Inhaled and exha-

 _(screaming) A monsterrr!_

 _You deserve nothing!_

The blue eyes were squeezed shut and shot open immediately, fear shining in the depths of them. The method didn't work anymore. The last thing in the whole world which had calmed her down - it didn't work anymore. She panicked. _Fuck._

Her heartbeat quickening, Alex felt the barriers surrounding her mind crash down. She felt it and couldn't help it. She took a grip of her hood and tried to pull it deeper. Glenched her fists. She was terrified. Fucking freaking terrified to the bone.

 _She lost it!_

 _(sighing) Why aren't you dead already?_

The voices - they only got worse. Of course they did, now that she had no protection left anymore. Alex froze, swallowing thickly. She didn't hear the sounds nor the voices around her anymore, didn't even notice the moment that Snape got back. She didn't realize that they walked across the Great Hall, didn't see the ocean of fearful faces that surrounded them. Alex heard nor saw nothing. She was locked.

The group stopped in the end of the Hall, forming a row behind Snape who was staring ahead at his students. It was death silent and it remained so. No one dared to speak nor move. A smirking row of Death Eaters gave plenty of reasons to stay shut.

Alex ended up standing behind Snape, between Bellatrix and Rabastan. As she trembled inside of her cloak, her breathing quickened. Someone pushed her. Bella. "Focus." A whisper barely audible reached Alex's left ear, distracting her brain for a moment. Her gaze shot up from the floor and locked with a brown-eyed boy's, who stared at her, his expression more hateful than fearful. How odd.

Those chocolate brown eyes...

 _My mommy told me that you're a monster._ A little boy's voice invaded Alex's head. An image formed in her head; a old memory jumped into her sight.

 _"Johnny, hide! Mommy will protect you!"_ _A pretty woman shouted over her shoulder and drew her wand from her cloak with trembling hands. Laughing diabolically, almost mockingly, Alex flicked her own and disarmed her. Another flick and the woman was sprawled on the floor, gasping for air._

 _"Hurry up, Hunter." Rabastan spat and walked past the teen, his wand pointed forwards. A good three seconds of silence. Alex slashed the air with her maple wand once more._

Snape was talking. Alex heard nothing. Not a word, not a whisper. She couldn't tear her gaze away from the boy.

 _Sparing a dirty glare at the corpse, Alex walked past it and started up the stairs. As she entered the first room, she heard screams of agony echoing from the down-stairs. Rabastan had found the man._ _Perfect._

 _"Johnny boy..." Alex cooed, eyeing around the bedroom she had just entered. Her gaze stopped to a old cabinet. She_ _smirked widely._ _Of course, they were always too easy._

 _Alex t_ _ook a step forwards. "No one can save you anymore, boy." She laughed in pure joy and slashed the air with her wand, making the doors of the cabinet bang open._

Alex's gaze momentarily fell to the boy's fists. He was glenching them violently.

 _A small boy,_ _just a toddler, flopped out to the carpet in front of Alex's feet. He wasn't crying, no, nothing like that. He only stared at Alex wide-eyed, as if she had been a ghost_ : _something unreal._

 _"Hello, filth. It's a pretty night to die, isn't it?" Alex greeted and smiled cruelly. Johnny didn't move, instead he talked - h_ _is tone fearful. "No." He shook his head. "No." He repeated, his eyes widening even more._

"No." Alex whispered to herself.

 _The Death Eater's smile grew. She flicked her wand and made the small boy cry out in horrible agony._

 _After a few seconds_ , _Alex whipped her wand slightly and eased the pressure of the cruciatus spell. She crouched next to the excuse-of-a-boy and spat on him. "I'm able to hurt you badly, Johnny boy. I can end you with a flick of my wand." Alex whispered,_ _her eyes gleaming._

"It has come to my attention-"

The boy's stare could've killed her. Alex swallowed thickly.

 _Johnny let out a strangled cry but fought against the pain the best he could. "My mommy-" he cried, "My mommy told me that you're a monster."_

 _Alex flinched in surprise and lifted the curse. What? "You'd be wise not to talk to me like that..." She whispered, trying to decide if she was more shocked or surprised._ _This small boy..._

 _"HUNTER!" Rabastan's voice boomed from down-stairs. "LET'S GO! THEY ARE HERE!"_

 _The Aurors. Alex got up quickly and turned to leave. "My mommy told me that...you're a monster." A whisper reached her ears._

Alex shuddered. Maybe she was - had always been.

 _Alex froze. "Your filth of a mother is dead." She voiced, her tone cold and empty. The kid let out a lonely sob._

 _Alex turned around and looked in the chocolate brown eyes. He had pretty eyes, indeed. What a shame that the kid was just a worthless filth._

 _The room was filled with green light. "And now-" Alex turned on her spot, as she heard the first Auror coming in from the front door. "-so are you, Johnny boy."_

Alex trembled roughly and couldn't help but continue staring at the boy who had the kind of eyes that his younger brother had had.

 _You killed a child, fucker._ _An innocent fucking child. (whistles) You're a sick fuck. A frea-_ Alex shook her head. No. No.

"or shall anyone cause any...trouble - they will be punished." Snape taunted.

Alex hadn't been listening.

 _You killed me._ The woman's voice accused out of the blue. _Lestrange didn't even kill my husband but...YOU KILLED MY SON!_ _MY LITTLE BOY!_

No. No. No. Alex was starting to feel sick.

 _You deserve to feel fucking sick!_

"Mrs. Lestrange, please." Snape asked and Bellatrix stepped forward - leaving a empty spot next to Alex.

"Call yourselves _lucky_ for all I care." Bellatrix started, swirling a strand of curly raven-hair around her wand while she spoke. She looked as arrogant as ever.

"No one's dead yet-" The dark witch whispered and left her sentence hanging, the smirk on her face oh-so-haunting.

No one moved, nor breathed loud enough to hear. Every single occupant of the Hall tried to make themselves as small and invisible as possible. The fear in the air was grim and cruel - nearly suffocating.

"-but I promise you nothing." Bellatrix finally added and raised her wand slightly. Professor McGonagall inhaled sharply and drew her own wand out without anyone noticing. She would defend every single student of hers - even if she lost her own life doing so.

However, Bellatrix did nothing. She only stared ahead: her dark gaze bouncing from terrified child to another. Eventually her onyx eyes fixated on McGonagall whose expression was a mixture of hate disgust. Bellatrix smirked to rile up the older witch but inside she felt sick. The more days went by, the more she questioned herself and her Lord's cause. The more days went by, the more she wanted it to end.

The dark witch had been quiet for a long three minutes. Once she spoke again, many people flinched in fear.

"You _filths_ have been disobeying your superiors." Her cold voice echoed in the Hall, "You need to be reminded what is the rightful...punishment for such foolishness." She ended darkly, eyeing the crowd in front of her - desperation hidden deep in her eyes.

Bellatrix turned around and fixated her eyes on Alex. "Hunter." she called silently. The ocean of people moved a little. Horrified whispers formed a wind-kind-of-a sound which rounded the huge hall and gradually died down - only to restart time after time.

"Hunter." Again, louder. Way harsher.

Alex inhaled slowly and shuddered roughly.

 _You killed me you-_

 _My mommy told-_

 _You are SICK, twisted, you-_

She felt all the eyes fixated on her, almost burning holes into her and she hated it. Was afraid of it. Couldn't handle it.

 _Everyone hates you..._

 _Can't you fucking see what_ _you've_ _done?_

 _WEE! (laughs) She's gonna break!_

A small push was _all_ it took. A small push to the shoulder that was meant to be encouraging.

 _I WANT YOU DEAD-_

 _You monster-_

 _YOUR fucking HEAD ON A PLATTER-_

 _You have k_ _illed-_

 _TORTURED-_

 _AAAAAAARRRRRRR-_

 ** _Snap._** _Klick._ Everything went black.

Rabastan Lestrange was smashed to the floor head first. Horrified screams filled the hall - but none was able to compete with the shrieks of agony that left Rabastan's lips. The sounds were raw and animalistic - they ripped the air in two and made the weakest ones cry.

Alexis Hunter hovered over the man, shuddering like a maniac and panting heavily. She slashed the air with her wand over and over again until the older Death Eater's voice broke completely and he fell unconscious. Alex released a furious scream and then fell silent - the whole hall following suite.

It was ridiculous actually; the way they were all afraid of the small witch. It was not like she would've been a goddess. After all no one was. It was more like a learned habit. Every living soul was taught to be afraid of Alexis Hunter. Her deeds were unforgivable and the name only spiced them up a little. She was the ultimate monster.

Alex closed her eyes momentarily and took a deep breath. Exhaled loudly. Cleared her mind. The pain...was gone. Alex licked her lips. She was free to do anything - she had nothing left to loose. There was no reputation to fight for, no family, no freedom. No sanity. There was only the society to break. More people to kill.

As Bellatrix watched how her protege turned from a human wreck to a travesty of peace, she felt like she would've been stabbed. She knew exactly what happened to Alex at that moment as it had happened to her too, those many years ago. The girl was out of anyone's reach now. She was officially a lost cause. It hurt like hell and Bellatrix was sure she lost a piece of her soul for the young girl in that moment.

As the troublemaker turned towards the scared lambs she made sure to do it slowly. She had time. She had _fucking time._

Eventually Alex faced the horrified people - and flipped her hood off. She willingly burned down her last cover - her last protection. Showed herself to her victims the way she was. She smiled diabolically, her eyes burning in joy to the way people gasped and whispered.

"Hello", the silent greeting left the one's lips in a mocking manner, a smirk spreading on them afterwards. No one answered. Alex's smirk only grew - she could feel the fear in the hall, travelling from mudblood to another. She laughed to herself. The game would be fun.

"You know, I wasn't expecting any hugs nor kisses but a 'hello' always feels rather nice." Alex stated while walking back and forth in front of the displeased professors and wordless students. Oh, Alex did know some of them, yes, but it really didn't matter. Not to her. She was there to torture. Anyone, wherever. _Whenever._

"However, I guess I shall not forget _what_ you are. It must be hard for you disgraceful _filths_ to form words..." she coldly added, stopped suddenly and rooted to her spot. Immediately the witch's eyes fixated on the old McGonagall who herself stared at Alex intently. Surprisingly enough; the professor didn't have a disgusted expression on her face. She looked brave.

It was just like she would've waited for the moment Alex decided to attack someone. Her expression told only that much - nothing more. She was to fight only if it was necessary. Only _if_.

"I'm getting bored." Alex articulated, staring in McGonagall's eyes. Smirking, she took three long predator steps forward and stopped in front of a shaking boy. A boy of brown eyes.

He shook out of rage, not fear. But Alex didn't notice that - not anymore. She was so close to the end. Close.

 _"Name."_ Alex hissed to the boy, her eyes never leaving McGonagall's. The woman didn't move an inch.

"Boomer, Boomer Panarin." the boy growled through gritted teeth. Alex's eyes snapped down and met the boy's. It was _him._

A sadistic smile spread on the young Death Eater's face. It never reached her blue eyes though.

No one saw the difference.

" _Panarin,_ you say?" Alex whispered, her voice flowing around the hall effortlessly. The boy only managed to nod. Alex stared the kid down and her smirk only grew and grew. She trembled out of excitement.

"Two out of _four_ to go anymore, then."

Boomer's breath hitched in his throat and his eyes widened. The audience the pair had silenced immediately. McGonagall moved. Too bad it was _way_ too late.

 _"Crucio_ The familiar words left Alex's lips in a joyful manner.

 _Three-two-one._

Alex knew better than expected and took a step back as a red spell flew past her face, missing her just by an inch. She lifted the cruciatus curse and aimed her wand at McGonagall who was now advancing her - a dark expression on her face.

A purple spell erupted from the tip of the Death Eater's wand and hurled towards the more experienced witch.

It was dodged in ease - being the half-hearted spell that it was. Nevertheless, the professor wasted no time in responsing. She knew very well that her former student was very capable of overpowering anyone - if she was given the chance. McGonagall cursed under her wavering breath. _E_ _ven without the chance_ , _yes._

A spell after another was exchanged between the witches. Every single occupant of the hall followed the pair's duel very intently, not making a sound. Everyone, the bad and the good, had seemingly forgotten why they were in there in the first place. The duel - it was the most _mesmerizing_.

Alexis Hunter _danced._ She swirled as she dodged McGonagall's spells and curses. She moved like a gracious ballerina as she fired back the curses and jinxes - with tenfold force. Minerva on the other hand, had a calm and stern grip of the duel. She showed no fear nor trepidation. She knew that if she did, Alexis would sense it and _use_ it against her immediately. She was ruthless - had _always_ been.

As McGonagall's blue curse collided with Alex's rock-hard _protego_ and shattered into pieces, the younger witch released a laugh. "Is _this_ -", she taunted and fired yet another killing curse, "the best you can do?"

McGonagall's eyes darkened.

Alex threw her head back and shrieked in laughter. _Protego_ , she un-verbally defended herself. She laughed and laughed until she was hit with a spell more powerful than ever before. Her strong shield shattered down, the maple wand smashed to the floor and rolled ten feet away from her. The blue eyes darkened in rage.

 _One. Two. Three._

The red spell left McGonagall's wand at the exact same moment as Alex took a step forward. The Death Eater grabbed a student by her collar and pulled her in front of her, shielding herself from the spell. It barely missed the two - only by two inches.

Holding the younger - and bigger - Hufflepuff in a tight grip, Alex quickly snatched her knife from her pocket and pressed it against the mudblood's throat. The bubbling audience silenced again, McGonagall froze on her spot.

"Drop _it._ " Alex barked, her signature smirk finding its way back to her face.

McGonagall did nothing. It was visible that she fought an internal battle. She wanted to drop the wand but didn't. She knew she _had_ to drop it but she couldn't. She couldn't give up.

The young Death Eater tightened her grip on the horrified witch and applied pressure on the knife against her throat. First droplets of blood slowly started to trickle down her throat.

"I said _drop it_!"

McGonagall took a step backwards and slowly placed her wand to the floor. Steadily she raised her hands slightly above her head, as if to show that she wasn't going to do anything. Not anymore.

The Hufflepuff whimpered in fear as Alex didn't set her free. She only pressed her knife harder and harder, her smirk growing all the same.

McGonagall opened her mouth to speak, the air became thicker and thicker.

"Hunter, let her go."

Alex laughed.

 _"Please."_

It was silent for a moment.

In one swift motion the young Death Eater yanked her knife from left to right and released the girl she was holding. She dropped to the floor and fell unconscious. A pool of blood immediately started to form under her.

McGonagall lunged forwards and cradled her student's head. Alex didn't stop her. "She has two minutes." the Death Eater whispered coldly and extended her left hand towards the lonely maple wand. It swung on the floor once, then flew straight into Alex's waiting hand.

Someone gasped. _Wandless magic._

Silence.

Alex's eyes fixated on the Panarin boy. He was laying on the ground, whining to himself. No one had dared to touch him nor speak to him. The fear of Alex's wrath was obvious.

"If you ever disobey me... _us_ again-", the raven-haired witch rasped, her tone deep and full of hatred, "-you will _be_ _g_ for an easy destiny like this _Boomer_ -filth's."

Someone frowned. _He was fine after all._

A flash of green light.

The time _stopped_ for a moment.

Alex's intake of a breath rang in the hall. Boomer Panarin didn't move anymore. He didn't do _anything_ anymore. He never would. Never.

"No...NO!" ,someone screamed in heart-breaking agony. The professors drew their wands out - the Death Eaters following suite. The screams became more frequent. There was sorrow. There was pain in the air - unbearable pain.

Alex quickly whipped her wand and hid herself from the boiling crowd. It was the time for her to leave. She smirked to herself. She had done enough.

"WHERE IS SHE?", an enraged seventh year Gryffindor girl screamed, fat tears streaming down her face. It was clear she didn't care anymore. She didn't care if the Death Eaters were to attack her. She knew it was only the matter of time anyway.

What she didn't know, however, was that the invisible girl she was looking for was already at the exit of the hall.

Bellatrix pointed her wand at the Gryffindor girl who trembled roughly. The dark witch felt horrible. What had Alex done to herself? What had happened to her? It all suddenly was way beyond her.

In the other end of the hall, Alex had stopped just in front of the open doors. She slowly turned around and immediately her eyes snapped at Bellatrix. The older witch stared straight ahead, as if she had seen Alex - through her. Her onyx eyes were filled with worry and desperation.

 _Don't._ Bellatrix would've said. Alex knew that - but she also knew better. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing couldn't matter anymore. As the small witch tore her gaze away from the haunting black eyes and turned to leave, all she could hear was _don't._

 _Don't._

One step one.

 _Don't._

* * *

 _Sooo...I know I took forever. I can only hope that some of you still are interested heh._


End file.
